Agent Rhode Island AU: What If
by TyForestWrites2
Summary: (AU Book 1) What if the Director thought about killing Rhode, but didn't? How would Rhode handle going through Season 10's flashbacks? This is how he handled it and beyond. (Agent Carolina x OC)
1. Prologue: The Sarcophagus

**Hey guys! This is TyForestGames, and I'm back to write Agent Rhode Island: What If. This is an AU, and is not canon to my Agent Rhode Island series. I'm mainly doing this for fun, but chapters will come out regularly. This is what would've happened if Rhode survived through Season 9's flashbacks... Let's go!**

 **XXX**

 **Prologue: The Sarcophagus**

 **THE HIGHEST BUILDING IN THE CITY OF INSURRECTIONISTS**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

Wash got to his feet and stared at the soldier lying on the ground in front of them, "That guy was a jerk!"

"Come on," Carolina ordered. "Let's get moving, guys!"

As they ran out the Vault, Rhode glanced at the carnage around him, "That bit with the purple plane; that was just showing off."

But he was happy nonetheless. The murderer of his family was gone. But now, back to business.

Down the passages they ran, up the stairwell towards the roof where York was waiting, "Come on, come on, hurry!"

As they ran through, he smashed the control panel with his rifle and the door slid shut, "There, that oughta hold 'em for a while."

But then he jumped back as the soldiers started welding through the doors on the other side, "Okay, maybe not."

As he set off after the others, he then said, "Hey, where's Maine?"

"Downstairs, keeping our hosts occupied," Wash replied.

At that moment, an agonized scream rang up from below and York winced slightly, "Man, I almost feel bad for them."

"That's what I said!" Rhode cried.

At the front, Carolina quickly got on the radio, "Four Seven Niner, this is Team Alpha! We need evac on the roof of the tower!"

"Roger that, I'm on it," the pilot replied.

"Come on, it's up..." York skidded to a halt when he saw someone by the Sarcophagus, "...here."

"You!" Carolina's eyes narrowed when she saw the black-armored figure standing up from the strange device, "What are you doing here? Is that a bomb?"

Carolina stared at it for a moment then she gasped, "I knew it. It was you who blew up the oil platform!"

"That thing blew up?" Wash gasped.

"Somebody's been covering up our tracks," Carolina stepped right up to Texas and stared into her visor, "You're on the roster too, but they hid your name. Why did they send you?"

Rhode quickly got between them, "Hey, hate to bust up your reunion, but we've got a problem!"

Right on cue, the doors were kicked open and dozens of Insurrectionists came pouring out onto the roof, led by a figure that Carolina and Rhode recognized right away; the red-armored leader from Bjørndal.

"Let's go, go, go, now!" he ordered his team, "Get into position! Completely surround them!"

As the soldiers followed their orders, four Hornet-Class fighter-ships swooped out of the sky. Then several more soldiers wearing jetpacks zipped out of the Hornets like bees from a hive and landed behind the Freelancers, cutting off their escape.

"No one gets behind me!" Red Leader yelled, raising his rifle, "Drop your weapons!"

As the Freelancers reluctantly obeyed, he then turned to Rhode, "You, moron, disarm the bomb!"

"Easy, easy, no reason to get all dramatic," Rhode reassured, kneeling down by the device, "I've never done this before, but okay, let me take a crack."

"Just do it already!" Red Leader snapped.

"Easy, easy, man," Rhode picked up the device, glanced over it for a moment and then frowned. "Um, this may not be my job, but I know this isn't a bomb. It's a transmitter."

"Alright, it's not a bomb!" Red Leader informed his team then he looked puzzled, "Wait, a transmitter? What's it transmitting?"

"Our location," Rhode replied.

"Why would it do that?"

Rhode just shrugged and glanced up at the sky.

In orbit above the planet, on the flight deck of the Mother of Invention, the Director waited in silence as FILSS prepared the ship's weapon, "System online, Director. Awaiting your command..."

Behind him, the Counselor began to look nervous, "If I may, Director, I think it would be wise if we-"

"Shut up, Counselor," the Director cut in sharply.

"Of course, sir," the Counselor murmured.

The ship then fired a tracking laser down to the planet, scanning for the transmitter.

Down below, Red Leader looked up at his prisoners and gasped when he just saw Rhode, York, and Wash standing there, "What the crap? There were five of them here? What is going on?"

Suddenly one of the soldiers turned to the others and started beating the crap out of them, her armor fading back to blue. Several soldiers turned to fire at her but they were then knocked down by an invisible being running around them.

"What did I say?!" Red Leader bellowed, "I said one thing! Keep them in front of me!"

Just then, Rhode saw a red laser hitting the transmitter and he quickly handed it to the leader, "Hey man, you mind holding this for me for a sec? Thank you."

Then he took a few steps away.

"Huh?" Red Leader looked at the transmitter as it started to beep then he looked slowly up at the sky.

 **XXX**

At that moment, the Mother of Invention's tracking computer locked on to the signal.

"Target locked," FILSS announced.

The Director gave a superior smile, "Fire!"

"Firing main cannon," FILSS replied.

Then from the front of the ship, a huge beam of light shot out towards its target.

 **XXX**

On the building, Red Leader stepped back as he saw the light coming right at him. "Oh, son of a-"

KRA-POOOOWWWWWWWWW! The beam shot straight through the building, shattering every single pane of glass and sending the Freelancers flying back. As Rhode got to his feet, he saw a huge gaping hole right where Red Leader had been standing moments ago.

'Man,' he thought, "I'm glad that wasn't me.'

Suddenly, the whole roof began to cave in around them. Texas then spotted Pelican Four-Seven-Niner approaching and ran towards the Sarcophagus, snatching up a dead soldier's jetpack and strapping it to her back. She then kicked the Sarcophagus off the roof and jumped off after it, switching on her pack and soaring off.

York, Wash, Rhode and Carolina then took off after her as the whole building began to crumble and sink into itself.

"This must be karma for kicking Main out the window!" Carolina cried as they ran.

"I don't wanna DO THIIIIIISSSSS!" York screamed.

"OH NOOOOOOOO!" Wash yelled.

"YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!!!!" Rhode cried.

They reached the edge of the roof and dived right over the edge, streamlining their bodies as they went after the Sarcophagus, dodging falling soldiers and building debris. The Pelican dived after them, drawing alongside the falling Freelancers.

Soon Carolina caught up to the falling Sarcophagus and landed right on top, her magnetic boot-clamps attaching to its side as she rode on it like a surfboard.

"Line it up!" Four Seven Niner called through her radio, "Come on! Come on! Stay on target!"

Carolina watched as the Pelican overtook her then opened its hatch. But then two Hornets swooped out of the clouds and opened fired on her. She jumped aside to avoid the blows and Wash quickly took her place, shooting a Hornet down in mid-air.

Just then Texas appeared behind him and pushed the Sarcophagus right into the flight deck, sending Wash sprawling on the floor, "Ow..."

As Texas crashed down beside him, her armor started to spark blue.

"Hold on!" the pilot called as she pulled the Pelican out of the dive and flew out of the city.

Texas then appeared at the doorway, "Get the package back to Command, now!"

"On it!" Four Seven Niner replied.

 **XXX**

Outside, York, Rhode, and Carolina, still in freefall above the city, watched helplessly as the Pelican flew away.

"Well, there goes our ride," York sighed.

"You think maybe we should've had a fallback plan?" Carolina muttered.

"Hey, what happened to Maine?" Rhode realized.

And then suddenly mere moments before they could hit the ground, an armored jeep burst out of the building right beneath them.

Carolina and Rhode grabbed onto the turret while York caught a hold of the roof, "Whoa! Are we in a car?"

"Hang on, everyone!" Maine called out as the jeep dived right into a tunnel.

Explosions ripped through the building's insides as it crumbled down to the ground. Then the jeep roared right out of the tunnel and onto the freeway. York was now sitting in the passenger seat and Carolina kept a firm grip on the turret as Maine swerved around the traffic. Rhode, however, had slipped and was now hanging on to the back bumper for dear life.

"Rhode! Quit showing off!" York ordered.

"THIS ISN'T ON PURPOSE!!!" Rhode screamed as Carolina offered her hand, which he gladly took.

 **XXX**

On the Pelican, the pilot got on the radio, "Command, this is Four Seven Niner. The Sarcophagus is secure, I repeat, the Sarcophagus is secure. We are inbound. Two Agents aboard, Team's status unknown."

In the hanger, Texas took off her jetpack as it started to spark and Wash gave a smile, "So, jetpacks, huh?"

Texas just tossed it aside and then jumped out of the Pelican moments before the door closed.

Wash raised an eyebrow, "That was interesting."

 **XXX**

Things were looking grim for Team B. As soon as their jeep had come within sight of the car that Rhee Sebial was in, the police escorts had opened fire on them, forcing their jeep to crash. They quickly took cover behind their vehicle and returned fire, but Wyoming took a hit on the shoulder and went down fast so C.T. broke off her fire to examine him, leaving North and Tenn to face the police alone.

Now as he pulled back to reload his rifle, Carolina's voice called to him through his helmet radio, "Team B, report. Team B!"

"Team B is down!" North reported, "We have wounded, and are taking fire!"

"We'll be right there."

"Negative," North said, "Get the package and get it out of the city."

 **XXX**

Further up the road, Carolina nodded. "Roger that."

As Maine kept the jeep going as fast as he could, York quickly typed in some numbers on the tracking screen, "Reading Team B's tracker..."

At last, the screen started beeping and a red light flashed on the map, "Okay, there he is. I got it."

"We'll cut 'em off at the overpass," Carolina decided, "Go, go!"

With a nod, Maine took the next turnoff onto the bridge and set off in pursuit.

 **XXX**

In another part of the city, Texas made her way through a building, avoiding the Insurrectionist patrols until she reached a balcony outside then she switched on her radio, "Come in, Mother of Invention."

"We read you, Agent Texas," FILSS replied, "Go ahead."

"FILSS, I need you to fire ordinance pod 0-4-0-1 to my position."

"I am sorry, but I cannot verify the contents of that pod. Protocol dictates that all-"

"Just fire it, FILSS," the Director's voice cut in.

"Acknowledged," FILSS replied. "Safety protocol override. Firing pod 0-4-0-1."

Texas waited a few seconds then a huge pod crashed down onto the roof nearby.

As she approached, a large panel opened up and slid down... to reveal an armored motorcycle and a fully-loaded rocket launcher inside, "Hello there..."

 **XXX**

Outside the building, one of the patrolling guards spun around, "Did you hear that?"

"Uh, no man," his partner replied.

"You didn't?" the first guard cried, "It was like-"

Suddenly the motorcycle crashed right through the window behind them and landed right next to them. The guards only had time to see Texas wink at them before she drove off down the freeway.

"How 'bout that?" the first guard yelled, "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, I heard it," his friend replied as they jumped into their jeeps and set off in pursuit.

 **XXX**

Further down the road, Carolina, Rhode, York, and Maine had reached the bridge that went over the main freeway and waited.

Then they spotted Rhee's car approaching them and Carolina turned to Maine, "Get ready."

Maine nodded and climbed onto the railing on the other side.

Then just before the car reached the bridge, Carolina yelled out, "Now!"

With that, Maine leapt off the bridge and landed neatly on the bonnet of the car, "Stop this vehicle and hand over the package... NOW!"

"What the?" Rhee quickly spun the wheel round and swerved the car, trying to throw the Freelancer off.

But Maine managed to cling on tight then he whipped out his brute shot and turned it so that the blade was facing Rhee, "Looks like we're gonna do this the hard way..."

 **XXX**

York drove the jeep down the road for a while until he spotted Maine waving to them by the wreck of Rhee's car.

As he pulled up, the bigger Freelancer smiled and held up a white briefcase, "Going my way?"

Behind the turret, Carolina beamed, "Nice work, Maine."

"Thanks," Maine grunted, sticking the case onto his back as he climbed into the jeep.

"Yeah, subtle as always," Rhode muttered, noticing the brute shot's blood-stained blade, "Response team is probably on the way."

Carolina nodded, "Let's get outta here."

"Hold on!" York slammed his foot on the pedal and the jeep took off across the highway, ducking and dodging around the traffic, "Coming through! 'Scuse me! Look out!"

Rhode then heard the sound of jet engines behind them and turned round to see two Insurrectionist Hornets diving out of the sky towards them, "Here they come!"

As the Hornets drew closer, three Insurrectionists wearing jetpacks leapt out of the back and flanked around them.

"Behind us!" York yelped.

Carolina opened fire on them with the turret, but the soldiers ducked around some passing trucks, letting them take the hits. One soldier, who carried a sniper rifle, sped on ahead and landed on the back of a flatbed truck before taking aim at the Freelancers.

"Maine, protect the briefcase!" Carolina yelled as she fired.

Rhode pulled out his sniper rifle and pulled the trigger. Click. That was a bad time to remember he had wasted his bullets on Sharkface. So he pulled out his pistol and opened fire.

Maine raised his brute shot to fire, but then he spotted an infrared laser beam and followed back to where Sniper was. Acting quickly, he dived in front of Rhode just as Sniper fired, taking the hit on his chest.

"Maine?" Rhode turned round to see the taller Freelancer slumping forward then he gasped, "Sniper!"

He ducked aside as the soldier fired again.

 **XXX**

Further up the road, Texas sped down the highway, dodging the fire from the pursuing jeeps behind her. She quickly ramped off the barrier into the other lane, swerving around the oncoming traffic. As one of the jeeps followed after her, she hit the brakes, sending the motorcycle wheeling round, grabbed her rocket launcher and fired at the jeep, sending its passengers flying.

As she set off again, she spotted the Hornets pursuing Team A, "Gotcha..."

She swerved to her right onto an off-ramp, sending the bike flying onto the road where Team A was driving. As she landed, she fired a rocket at one of the Hornets, taking out before tossing the launcher away. She then whipped out her SMG and fired at some Insurrectionists pursuing the team on Mongooses.

 **XXX**

Up ahead, the other Insurrectionist on jetpacks opened fire on the Freelancers and Carolina ducked behind the turret, "Punch it!"

"It's punched!" York yelled back.

Then one Insurrectionist, with blonde hair sticking out from the bottom of her helmet, landed on the jeep's bonnet and raised her shotgun but Carolina jumped to the front, knocked the gun away and kicked Blondie off the car.

Rhode stared at Blondie, painful memories coming back to him. He looked at Carolina, who realized the same thing. Then Blondie switched on her jetpack, whipped out a knife and swung out at Rhode, knocking him towards the edge of the bonnet.

Behind them, Maine began to stir but then Blondie planted her foot on his back, knocking him out again, and snatched the briefcase off his back. But then Carolina ran forward and kicked Blondie back, sending the case flying.

Carolina fumbled with for a moment before getting a firm grip on it. "Got it."

But then the second Insurrectionist, who wore a sleeveless suit of armor, dived down and kicked Carolina off the jeep, grabbing the case back. Carolina grabbed onto the bonnet and Rhode pulled her back on as Sleeveless raised his rifle and pointed it at the still-unconscious Maine's head.

"Hold on!" York swerved the jeep hard left, flinging Sleeveless forward. The soldier bumped into Carolina and Rhode and they all flew off the jeep and landed on a truck, scattering its load of oil drums like skittles.

As York swerved to avoid the barrels, Maine stirred in his seat, "What happened? What did I miss?"

"Just about everything!" York cried.

On the truck, Rhode managed to retrieve the briefcase but then Blondie dived out of the sky and fired at him, sending the Freelancer into cover. At the same time, Sleeveless picked up a barrel and flung it towards the jeep, knocking its turret off.

"Would you quit throwing stuff?!" York bellowed.

Then he spotted the truck with Sniper on board drawing up next to him, "On your left, on your left!"

Sniper raised his rifle and fired at them, but York swerved back to avoid the hit then rammed the jeep right into the truck, sending Sniper flying. The soldier switched on his jetpack to regain his balance and took after the jeep, but as he drew up to them, Maine punched him back into the path of a barrel and he was knocked back down again.

York then sped up the jeep until it drew up alongside the barrel truck, "Watch it! Watch it!"

Maine leapt off the jeep to rugby-tackle Blondie but she jumped out of the way then kicked him back into Rhode and Carolina, leaving the three Freelancers back to back as they faced their opponents. Maine felt the briefcase clip onto his back then he charged towards Sleeveless while Carolina and Rhode fought it out with Blondie.

"On the right!" York tossed the brute shot out and Rhode snatched it out of the air.

He then did a Matrix-style jump to avoid the bullets fired at him before he plunged the brute shot's blade into Blondie's chest.

But as she fell back, Blondie tossed her pistol over to Sleeveless, who caught it before punching Maine back. As the Freelancer swung his fist out, Sleeveless caught it then fired the pistol right into Maine's throat. He then threw Maine to the floor and held him down with his foot as he fired at his throat again and again.

"NO!!!" Rhode tackled Sleeveless off his friend and swung the brute shot down at him but he ducked aside and kicked him away. The wounded Blondie then flew into the fray, and Carolina quickly ran to Rhode.

Behind them, Maine staggered to his feet, blood pouring down his throat, and grabbed his brute shot.

"Have to... protect... them..." he gurgled, taking aim at the Insurrectionists.

But just as he pressed the trigger, Blondie fired at his shoulder, disrupting his aim and making him hit the rear of the truck. The Truck swerved round violently and smashed into a car, sending its five unknown hitchhikers flying through the air.

As she flew, Carolina reached out for the briefcase still on Maine's back but just missed and landed on the back of York's jeep while Rhode landed perfectly in the passenger seat.

"Sup?" York said casually.

"Jacked up, about to die," Rhode muttered, "The usual."

Maine however bounced off the road a few times before a speeding truck smashed him right off the road. Sleeveless snatched up the briefcase and took off towards his Hornet.

Behind them, Texas roared round her other pursuer and fired at the Hornet, but Sleeveless ducked to avoid the bullets. The Hornet then dived into a tunnel, its rotor smashing the door controls. Texas gunned her cycle and took off into the tunnel.

Carolina gasped as she saw the doors begin to slide, "Don't let her grab it first!"

"Who cares who gets it first?" Rhode yelled.

"I do!"

But as they drew closer, Carolina realized that the jeep wouldn't make it through in time, "Bail out!"

"Bailing!" York and Rhode leapt out of the jeep and rolled down the road.

Carolina mounted the jeep's roof and rode it like a surfboard towards the closing doors. Then just before the tunnel was completely sealed shut, she leapt through the gap and activated her speed unit, hitting the ground running as she set off after Texas.

Outside the tunnel, York and Rhode staggered to their feet and stared at the burning wreckage of the jeep by the tunnel's doors.

"Man, We've got to quit jumping off stuff today," Rhode grunted

They then spotted Pelican Four-Seven-Niner approaching and waved their arms to flag it down.

 **XXX**

In the tunnel, Carolina spotted the Hornet up ahead and urged herself to speed up, ducking around cars as she drew up next to Texas, "Fall back, Agent Carolina. I've got this!"

"You fall back!" Carolina retorted.

Texas scowled at her and accelerated her bike. The Hornet left the tunnel and began to ascend but Texas drove her bike up an off-ramp and bailed out just as it left the end. Sleeveless spotted the bike approaching and jumped off just as it smashed into the Hornet in a fiery explosion. He quickly switched on his jetpack and took off.

Texas flipped round and landed on her feet just as Carolina overtook her. As Sleeveless flew away from the highway, she leapt over the traffic barrier and fired her grappling hook at a crane, swinging over the buildings like Spiderman. She landed on a rooftop and took off after Sleeveless, jumping over the roofs in pursuit. Eventually she caught up to him and dived straight at him, knocking him out of the sky and onto the road.

Sleeveless' jetpack skidded across the road, propelling them down the road like a rocket-powered skateboard. He swung out at Carolina but she raised her fist and punched him right in the face, sending them tumbling down the road. A truck smacked into the back of Sleeveless and sent him flying, knocking the briefcase off his back. Carolina quickly curled into a ball as she skidded right under the lorry, but its back bumper hit her armor and she was sent flying through the air before smacking into a traffic barrier and crashing to the ground.

With a groan, she staggered to her feet, her helmet slipping off her head. As she shook her head, sending her fiery-red hair whipping round her face, she looked around and spotted the briefcase on the other side of the road... just as Texas walked over and picked it up.

"Command, the package is secure," Texas announced over her radio. "Heading home."

"Excellent work, Agent Texas," the Director replied.

"Thank you, sir," As she ended the call, Texas turned and nodded to the blue Freelancer, "Better luck next time, Carolina."

Then she jumped over the barrier and disappeared. Carolina swore under her breath then she looked up and spotted Pelican Four-Seven-Niner diving out of the sky. The hatch then swung open and Rhode beamed down at her, holding out his hand. With a slight smile, Carolina picked up her helmet, grabbed Rhode's hand and was pulled up onto the Pelican as it set off back to base...

 **XXX**

 **Man, that was a workload... But hey, I'm back! Origins is still on hold, but I'm working with for the next chapter. Till next time guys!**


	2. Chapter 1: Reassurance

**Chapter 1: Reassurance**

 **THE MAIN BRIEFING ROOM ON THE MOTHER OF INVENTION**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

Her helmet under her arm, Carolina stared at the leader board with angry eyes. For so many months, she had been at the top of the ranking, everyone looked up to her and even the Director showed great praise for here. But then this Texas woman showed up out of nowhere, and in one fell swoop, everything changed. She was still admired by the other Freelancers, but the other staff paid more attention to Texas. She fervently hoped that one day, she would show that woman who was the true top dog...

Tex taking her position wasn't the only bad news there was, it was just the one that occupied her mind. Agents Arizona and Pennsylvania were both reported as dead when the building collapsed. They were on the first floor of the skyscraper when the blast hit and the building most likely collapsed on top of them. Rhode and Tenn had been especially upset. Zona and Penny were part of their team and they were all close friends.

Behind her, the Director gave a small cough and Carolina turned to face him, "Our next phase is ready to begin, Carolina. We will be asking you to do a great, many things."

"I'm ready, Sir," Carolina replied.

The Director sat up in his seat and gave her a serious look, "Some of these things might be... questionable."

Carolina gave a short nod, "I'll do whatever it takes. You've given me everything. I would do anything for you."

She then smiled to herself. Questionable or not, if whatever this next phase did would make her better than Texas, nothing else would matter...

The Director walked out as Rhode walked in. The Director gave him a little nod before the door closed. Rhode turned back to Carolina.

"So..." He said, "How've ya been?"

"What do you think?" Carolina snapped.

"Whoa, hostile," Rhode backed up a bit, "Is it seriously that big of a deal?"

Carolina turned on him, anger showing in her green eyes, "Everything was fine until she showed up. You should know! You're at the bottom of that list!"

Rhode flinched. The last time Carolina acted this harshly was when he delayed their first official match. Rhode realized that Carolina's pride had been damaged. There was no healing that without help.

"Sorry," Rhode apologized, "I didn't realize how much that spot meant to you."

Carolina was taken aback by Rhode's apology. She didn't expect him to give up that easily.

"I'm sorry too," she said, "I shouldn't have snapped like that... So how have you been with Zona and Penny's death?"

Rhode looked down, "Despite how annoying they were, they were actually pretty cool. I just didn't expect them to die anytime soon..."

Carolina put on a sad smile and hugged him. He hugged back and started to chuckle.

"Remember when they would tease us for stuff like this?" He asked.

Carolina separated and laughed, "Yeah, that got annoying."

Rhode's frown returned, "But the thing is... I keep getting this feeling like they're not dead..."

"Rhode," Carolina reasoned, "The life chips in their armor went dead. It's confirmed."

"I know... But I can't help but get the feeling that they're still alive and out there somewhere. Must be useless hope trying to tell me that."

Carolina smiled, "Maybe. Well, I'm off to bed. Good night Rhode."

"Good night Carolina."

Carolina walked out the door and Rhode continued to stare at the leaderboard. He let out a sigh and turned to leave. Then something caught his eye.

Some of the leaderboard names began to change. Rhode blinked to make sure he wasn't imagining it. Wyoming's name was almost completely deleted, except for the W. Then new letters appeared, changing the name to 'Wario'.

Rhode stared at the leaderboard as Washington's name lost the last two letters. Then name then read 'Washingtub'. Rhode let out a laugh. There were only two people he knew who had the skill, guts, and humor to do that.

'Zona, Penny,' he thought, 'Wherever you are... Good luck.'

And Rhode turned and walked out the door.

 **XXX**

 **And Zona and Penny are not dead! Come on, those two were awesome. How could I kill them? Till next time guys!**


	3. Chapter 2: Heavy Metal

**Chapter 2: Heavy Metal**

 **INSURRECTION SHIP THE INTERCEPTER**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

"And now the moment you've all been waiting for, from the far distant system of Sanghelios – I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly – the bad boys of Grifball: TEAM HERETIC!"

The sport announcer's voice on the computer rang out across the surveillance room, almost drowning out the sounds of the other monitors that were scanning the surrounding area. The Insurrectionist soldier on duty only half-glimpsed the screens as he watched the latest game on the United Nations Sport Network, though he should be on alert.

Several months had passed since the mysterious Freelancers had invaded their city, murdered their high-ranking official Rhee Sebiel, and stolen their most important find, the Sarcophagus. The leader of the Insurrectionists had warned them that the Freelancers might attack again and told them to keep an eye out for any unusual activity, though some people had a lot more on their minds.

With a yawn, the soldier stretched his arms back, folded them behind his head and placed his feet on the desk as he watched the screen showing the players entering the Grifball field, "And your home planet favorites: Slip-"

Suddenly the screen began to buzz with static, flicking through several channels before stopping at the desktop.

Then a soft electronic voice spoke up from next to the screen, "Excuse me."

The soldier jumped upright in his seat and turned to find a glowing green figure standing by the keyboard.

The figure looked very similar to a Spartan-II super soldier only it was five inches tall and it looked very annoyed, "I hate to intrude, but you have not performed any work in the past 13 minutes and 42 seconds. That strikes me as rather inefficient."

"Oh, uh sorry," the soldier stammered, getting onto the computer, "I was just trying to, uh... yeah, how do you get a new window? You know, like the, you know, like a new window, what's the button thing for that, you know?"

"I believe the keys you are looking for are Alt-Tab."

"Oh yeah, thanks, little guy," The soldier pressed the buttons and the screen changed to show the depths of space, "Wait, who are you? You don't look like the normal holo-projection."

"That is because I am the AI designated as Delta, from Project Freelancer."

"Wait, you're from Project Freelancer? I mean, aren't those... the bad guys?"

Delta gave a puzzled frown, "There is no need for name calling. I submit that Project Freelancer is neither good nor bad, much like your own forces. We are merely two groups dedicated to obtaining different results."

"Whoa, man," the soldier breathed, "That's... that's deep. It's like, it's like there's different universes but you know there's-"

Suddenly the soldier felt something grabbing the back of his neck and pulling his head back, and he found himself staring into the visor of a full-sized Spartan in tan armor with silver highlights.

"Don't encourage him," the Spartan warned, "He's already long-winded as it is."

With that, he slammed the soldier's head into the console, knocking him out, and then flipped him off the chair.

"Thank God," he sighed, sitting down by the computer, "I thought you two would never stop chit-chatting."

"I'm not sure that was entirely necessary, Agent York," Delta scolded, folding his arms, "He seemed open to the logic I presented him. Perhaps he would have allowed us to carry out our mission."

"Sorry I knocked out your new friend," York muttered sarcastically, "Now you two will never get to have a beer together."

"I believe that would have been unlikely, regardless."

York rolled his eyes, flinching at his damaged left one, as he worked on cracking the lock. Only a short time had passed since he'd been assigned Delta. The Director of the Project, Doctor Leonard Church, had informed York that he'd been chosen to house Delta because they were both compatible. Sure, sometimes Delta's lengthy calculations bored him to tears but he had to admit that the functions in his armor, as well as his special healing unit, had greatly improved since he'd acquired the AI...

At last, he broke through the security protocols and a glowing blue light appeared in front of the vault door next to him.

With a smile, he got up from the console and approached the door, rubbing his hands in anticipation, "Show time..."

As he set to work on the lock, the radio in his helmet switched on and the gentle Southern voice of the Director called out to him, "Come in, Agent York, are you in?"

"Yes, Sir," York replied, "This guys love their holographic locks. I'll let Delta take a peek in their system while I try to disable it manually."

He glanced over his right shoulder, "You're up, D."

With a nod, Delta stepped up to the lock, placed his hand on it and disappeared, making the lock glow with a slight green tinge, "Curious."

"What's curious?" York asked, "That's code for 'bad', isn't it?"

"I have detected an anomaly inside of the system, something that is not supposed to be there. Diverting sub-routines to investigate..."

"Don't get too curious in there, I need your attention on this lock."

"Do not worry, Agent York. I have already rectified several instances where you would have tripped the alarm."

Just then, there was a loud groan behind him and York turned round to see the soldier struggling to his feet, looking very confused, "Ohhh, my head... Wait, what's going... Hey, give me back my leprechaun."

Thinking quickly, York kicked the chair back into the soldier's stomach, sending him sprawling to the ground unconscious.

"What was that, Delta?" the Director growled.

"Nothing, Sir," York fibbed, resuming his work on the lock.

"Agent, may I remind you that we are running short of time?"

At that moment, Delta reappeared on York's shoulder, his body glowing orange in panic, "Warning: an alarm has been remotely triggered."

"What?" York gasped, "By who?"

"They knew we were coming," the Director realized, "Agent York, abort intrusion immediately. We are moving to more direct measures."

"Wait, wait, wait, I can do this," York insisted, speeding up his work on the lock, "I can do this, just give me a moment, Sir."

Then the voice of the Freelancer Integrated Logistics and Security System spoke through his radio, "System online, Director. Awaiting your command."

"I agree with the Director," Delta said, his body fading back to green, "I have yet to see you successfully open a lock in the field, and this alarm will only hamper your progress."

"Okay, now don't you start in on me too," York warned, "You've been talkin' to Wash again, haven't you?"

"Agent York, we are out of time," the Director snapped, "I repeat, abort!"

"Target locked," FILSS announced.

At this, York paused, "Umm, what target is locked? What's the target?"

He got no reply so he switched off his radio and turned to his AI, "Delta, what are they doing?"

"Taking more direct measures," Delta replied.

"You knew about this?"

Delta just shrugged, "Possibly."

York glanced around the room in a panic then he spotted the wall on his right beginning to smoke and glow orange then red, almost as if it was being heated up by some kind of laser or...

He gasped then turned to glower at Delta who'd quickly vanished, "Why, you little green-"

Suddenly the wall exploded in a burst of flame that sent York sprawling onto the ground. Then a loud wind whipped up and he felt himself being pulled along the floor.

To his horror, he realized that all the air in the room was being sucked out through the hole in the wall into the cold harsh vacuum of space, along with anything that wasn't nailed down – including him.

"WHOA!!!"

Quickly he grabbed hold of the console and clung on as tightly as he could, "Holy crap!!"

But then the chair flew up and hit him in the chin then the soldier went right into the chair, causing York to lose his grip and sending them both tumbling into the starry, debris-strewn darkness of space...

 **XXX**

 **UNSC SCRAP METAL RECYCLING STATION**

The light of the closest star glinted off the pieces of wreckage and debris drifting around the space station, and off the body of an Insurrectionist soldier slumped in his seat. Then three Longsword-Class Interceptors shot out from the space station and strafed around the wreckage as they flew towards the approaching Paris-Class freighter, the Mother of Invention.

 **XXX**

On the bridge of the freighter, the Counselor hurried over to the Director, who was standing in front of his holograph table, assessing the scene, "Sir, enemy fighters approaching."

"Fire at will, Counselor," the Director ordered, "Let's send them back to the scrap yard."

 **XXX**

Outside, the Longswords fired their missiles at the Mother of Invention, but FILSS fired the MAC cannon and destroyed one of the ships. The others swooped around and fired at the hull, but one was shot down by the guns at the side. The last one fired its missiles again which hit the side of the freighter.

 **XXX**

On the bridge, the Counselor stumbled as the ship rocked from the missiles' impact, "It appears we are now taking fire."

"Release the drop-ships," the Director replied, turning away from the table, "Get the team in position."

As the Interceptor took off back to base, four Pelican-Class drop-ships were deployed from the Mother of Invention. Three of them took off after the retreating ship while the last one headed towards the space station.

 **XXX**

On board, Pilot Four Seven Niner shook her head in dismay, "Well, that went to crap quicker than we thought. Out of the frying pan, into the fire."

"We're going to need a new insertion point," Carolina ordered, "York was supposed to open the leader's hanger for us."

"It wasn't my fault!" York protested over the radio.

"We'll have to settle for the main hangar," Four Seven Niner decided.

"Which one is that?" Rhode asked.

The pilot pointed out through the windscreen, "The one with the shooting things coming out at us."

As she spoke, one of the station's turrets turned towards them and fired. Four Seven Niner hit the brakes to avoid the shots but one blast struck the side of the ship.

Carolina winced slightly at the hit, "Never a dull moment, huh?"

"I'd get your team ready," the pilot said, "We're gonna come in hot."

With a nod, Carolina leapt out of her seat and ran into the loading bay where her team was strapping jetpacks onto their backs. Rhode Island just finished putting his pack on, North Dakota was helping his twin sister South with hers, Connecticut was sitting in the corner holding her pack in her hands, and Washington had just put his pack on.

"You heard her," Carolina called, "We're going for the main hanger. Be prepared for anything."

"So much for a smooth ride," North sighed.

"What's the matter, feeling sick?" South taunted.

"Hey, I'm not the one who needed a barf bag on all our family trips."

As Carolina grabbed a jetpack from the rack and strapped it on, Rhode went up to her, "How are you feeling? Are you up to this?"

"Say what you want to say, Rhode," Carolina replied.

"It's just... giving up your AI was a big deal. I thought-"

"I'll be fine," Carolina cut in as she placed a pair of plasma pistols on her belt, "Worry about yourself."

South approached C.T. and sat down next to her, "You're awfully quiet."

"Huh?" C.T. looked up at this, "Oh, just trying to prepare myself."

"Hey, worst comes to worst, we'll just get kicked off the leader board," South said dismissively, "At least us ladies will be sticking together, right?"

C.T. just nodded.

At the front, Four Seven Niner cringed as the Pelican got hit again, "Darn it! Opening rear bay..."

At once, the Freelancers leapt to their feet and went up to the back as the rear door slid open, revealing the debris-strewn depths of space and the space station before them.

"Right, all together!" Carolina ordered, "Use your jetpacks sparingly – course correction only. You don't want to end up like Georgia."

"Wait, what happened to Georgia?" Wash asked.

"Nobody knows," South replied. "They never found him."

Wash suddenly looked very nervous, "Are you sure these things are safe?"

Behind him, Rhode cocked his sniper rifle, the spent round flipping about in the zero gravity.

Carolina snatched up a gravity hammer then turned to the front of the ship, "Now!"

At the command, Four Seven Niner flung a lever forward and the Pelican did a hard turn right, flinging the Freelancers out into space like ragdolls off a truck. Quickly they switched on their jetpacks and took off towards the space station.

 **XXX**

On board the main hangar, the Insurrectionist troops were preparing for battle, grabbing their guns and manning their Warthogs' turrets.

At the front of the hangar, one soldier, Ian, was rummaging through a crate of shotguns then another soldier ran up to him in panic, "Battle stations! We're under attack!"

"No kidding we're under attack," the first soldier, Anthony retorted, his head in the crate, "What do you think we're doing, rolling out the red carpet?"

"No, moron," Ian yelled, pointing out the hangar door, "Look!"

His arms laden with shotguns, the first soldier turned round to see five Freelancers jetting towards them, "Aw, come on!"

Then a shotgun slipped out of his arms and hit the ground, firing on impact into the second guard's stomach and knocking him down, "Not again. Sorry about that."

Then he was shot right in the gut and fell down under a pile of shotguns.

The Freelancers swept into the hangar and began their attack. The Insurrectionists opened fire and the battle began.

North and South jumped to the floor and returned fire while Rhode swooped over their heads and barreled right through the troops. Carolina then swept over them, raised her gravity hammer and hurled it down into the middle. As it hit the ground, a wave of energy blasted out, knocking several Insurrectionists backwards. Carolina then landed, snatched up the hammer, turned it so the blade was facing out and began smashing through the troops like a female Thor in blue armor.

Meanwhile Wash landed by the control panel at the back and ran round to the computer screen, "Okay, where's that security override? Come on... Darn it!"

In frustration, he slammed his fist into the panel, and then the screen flashed up the words 'Artificial Gravity Disabled'.

"Uh oh, that's not good..." he muttered, "Hey guys, things might get a little... floaty."

Suddenly the Insurrectionists and their jeeps began to float off the ground like they were tied to invisible balloons, "Ahhh! What the crap?"

In panic, they fired randomly at the air, but only managed to hit each other.

"Everyone engage grav-boots!" Wash yelled as he clung to the panel.

North and South ran out of cover and took off towards the floating soldiers, using the Warthogs and the dead soldiers as stepping stones as they fired their guns. Carolina jumped into the air and used her hammer to smash a jeep into a group of soldiers then she whipped out her plasma pistols and leapt from Warthog to Warthog, firing at every soldier that floated past her. Rhode simply aimed his sniper and took pot shots.

At the back, Wash pounded each button on the console until at last the screen flashed the words 'Artificial Gravity Enabled', "Okay, I got it. I got it! Oh man..."

He quickly ducked behind the panel just before a jeep smashed into it and flipped over his head, "Why do cars hate me?"

Then the soldiers plummeted back to the ground. Any Insurrectionist that wasn't shot dead were either killed on impact or crushed by the falling jeeps, but Carolina, Rhode, North, and South used their jetpacks to slow their fall and landed safely on the ground.

"They know we're inside," Carolina said, "Wash, Rhode, North, secure that hallway," The guys nodded and ran towards the side, "South, see if you can access the leader's location, we don't leave without him."

"Got it," South replied, running towards the panel, "I'm already on it."

"C.T., get me-" Carolina suddenly realized that they were one short, "Where the heck is C.T.?!"

 **XXX**

Outside the station, C.T. flew around until she spotted the hole in the side of the ship and dived through it. Inside, the hallways were dark, so she switched on her helmet's headlights and crept down the passage towards a door at the end.

Behind the door, some Insurrectionists were gathering their weapons when the door slid open and C.T. appeared in the entrance, pointing her pistol out.

"Intruder!" one soldier gasped. "Get him!"

With that, the soldiers raised their guns and opened fire...

 **XXX**

 **And now to see what CT has gotten herself into. Till next time guys!**


	4. Chapter 3: Follow the Leader

**Chapter 3: Follow the Leader**

"Open fire!" another soldier yelled.

With that, the soldiers raised their guns and fired at C.T... but the bullets just went right through her. Then her body flickered and disappeared.

"Stand down," the third soldier ordered.

This one was wearing steel-grey armor with maroon highlights and the symbol of a capsule etched on his chest.

He stepped up to the entrance, then suddenly C.T. leapt down from the ceiling, knocked down the other soldiers then grabbed an assault rifle and pointed it at the leader.

"Holographic projection?" the leader asked, "I must say, I'm very impressed."

C.T. kept the gun pointed at him... then she smiled and tossed it over to him, "You didn't wait for me to start? I'm hurt, Mark."

The leader caught the gun and went up to her, "I was worried about you. I didn't think you'd be able to get away."

"You don't know the half of it. They stepped up production. Here..." She pulled out a small data-pad, marked with the triplicate symbol of Project Freelancer, from her belt pocket and handed it to Mark, "The ship was capture by the enemy. I'm surprised there's anything left in the data banks."

"Ha! Not everybody follows protocol," Mark replied, plugging the pad into his computer, "You should know that better than anyone."

C.T. nodded as she watched the pictures loaded on the pad appearing on the screen, "You really think they found another artifact? How could nobody have discovered that, when they were processing the wreckage?"

"They didn't know where to look," Mark turned and smiled at her, "And they didn't have what you have."

Just then, another Insurrectionist came into the room, "Sir, we're in position. Awaiting your signal..."

 **XXX**

"What do you mean the Leader's not here?" Carolina cried.

"Exactly what I said," South replied as they went back to the entrance to the hangar, "His last check in is upstairs in the main deck, but his call-sign just appeared in their internal frequencies. He's broadcasting from out in Bone Valley."

"Meaning he's not here?"

"Gee, you're starting to sound like a broken record."

"Fine," Carolina turned to where North, Rhode, and Washington were waiting, "Change of plans everyone. We're heading into the junkyard."

As the guys ran to join them, Carolina turned to look out into space, "This is beginning to feel more and more like a setup."

But just as they were about to take off, a tan-and-silver figure came hurtling out of the debris, screaming at the top of his lungs, flew into the hangar and crashed right into a fallen Warthog, slumping to the ground, "Ow..."

The Freelancers turned round just as York sat up, shaking his head, "Phew, you would not believe the time I had getting back. It's nuts out there."

"Let's go, people!" Carolina ordered, taking off out of the hangar with South.

York frowned at this. "What? No welcome back?"

"Alright," Rhode went up to York and patted him on the shoulder, "Welcome back."

With that, he and North took off after the girls.

"Where are they off to in such a hurry?" York asked as Wash helped him to his feet.

"We found the Leader," Wash explained, "He's hiding out in Bone Valley."

York stared at him in shock, "We're going all the way over there? After what happened to Georgia?"

"Would someone please tell me what happened to Georgia?"

"Dude, you do not want to know," With that, he switched on his jetpack and took off after the others.

"I really do though!" Wash yelled as he followed him out.

 **XXX**

Meanwhile, on board the other ship, Mark finished his work and turned to the other Insurrectionists, "Time to get out of here."

As they ran out, he then turned to C.T., "You too."

"I can't," she replied, turning her head away, "Not yet."

"If they weren't on to you before, they definitely will be now," Mark put his hand under her chin and turned her head back round, "Come with us, Connie. I'm not gonna lose you over this."

C.T. thought about this for a moment then she tore off the Freelancer badges on her shoulders and threw them out the hole above, along with her jetpack, "Let's get going."

Mark nodded and they set off down the hallway as one of the guards switched on his radio, "All forces, we are go! I repeat, we are go!"

 **XXX**

As the Mother of Invention approached the space station, some distance away, the Freelancers jetted through the junkyard, scanning through the wreckage for any trace of the Insurrection, but everything was silent as a grave.

"I don't get it," Carolina muttered, "Everything stopped."

"Maybe they're retreating," North assumed.

"Nothing left out here but a bunch of junk," York added.

 **XXX**

Nearby, the Pelican swept through the debris while Four Seven Niner checked the scanners for any sign of movement, but there wasn't even a tiny blip.

With a sigh, she got on the radio, "This is Four Seven Niner; I have lost visual on targets. It's like they all just left."

 **XXX**

On board the Mother of Invention, the Director and the Counselor made their way to the observation deck and stared through the window at the approaching station.

The Counselor did a quick scan of the area on the computers then turned to the Director, "Sir, their outpost is disabled, and it looks as if we have driven off the remaining fighters."

The Director gave a superior smile, "Well, good riddance to bad rubbish, Counselor."

"Indeed, sir. All enemy systems appear to be offline," The Counselor then looked out the window towards the planet... and frowned, "Wait..."

The Director turned, "What is it?"

The Counselor just pointed to a huge cluster of junk next to the planet and gave a worried look.

 **XXX**

Outside, Four Seven Niner approached the cluster as she glimpsed some movement inside. Then suddenly, like a whale breaching a raging sea, a huge destroyer burst out of the cluster. As the Pelican swooped past, the pilot spotted its engines switching on at the back, and at the front, lights switched on to reveal the craft's name: Staff of Charon.

"It's a trap!" she yelled over the radio, "They're hiding in the junkyard. Repeat, it's a trap!"

On the frigate, the Director received the news and quickly turned to the staff below, "Evasive maneuvers!"

 **XXX**

On board the Staff of Charon, Mark turned to the soldier at his side, "Fire."

The destroyer fired its laser blasters, striking the side of the Mother of Invention.

Inside, the soldiers reeled from the hits as machinery began to spark, and even the Director struggled to keep his footing, "Son of a..."

Soon the Staff of Charon drew alongside the Mother of Invention as they fired at each other, the hits shaking the latter's staff about like pennies in a jar. Then more turrets appeared on the Staff of Charon's side and fired at the Mother of Invention, badly damaging the frigate.

"No!" the Director growled, slamming his fist onto the console.

Then the Staff of Charon pulled off from the attack, but not before ejecting a large plate-shaped object out from its underside.

 **XXX**

On board, the soldier turned to his leader, "We're away, sir, new course laid. Are you sure you don't want to stay and finish this?"

Mark just gave an evil grin, "Heh, I left our guests a present."

With that, he hit the warp jets and the destroyer rocketed out of the junkyard and into the depths of space.

 **XXX**

Meanwhile, the Pelican took off toward where the Staff of Charon was moments ago, but as it passed the object, a warning suddenly flashed across the screen: NUCLEAR DEVICE DETECTED.

Four Seven Niner gasped in horror then got on the radio to the Director and the Freelancers, "Guys, get out of there! They've outfitted that piece of junk with nukes!"

 **XXX**

The Director received the warning and his face became grim, "Fall back, Counselor."

"Falling back, Director..." the Counselor issued the command to the staff and soon the Mother of Invention was turning away from the junkyard to a safe distance.

 **XXX**

Nearby, Carolina also got the message and quickly boosted her jetpack to a higher speed, "GO! GO!! GO!!!"

Behind her, the others did the same and took off after Carolina towards the Pelican as Four Seven Niner gunned the engines, "Get inside now!"

The bay doors swung open and Carolina rocketed inside, closely followed by North, York and South. But Washington lagged behind, his jetpack still flying at normal speed.

"Wash, what are you doing?" Rhode yelled, "Get in here, use your jetpack!"

"I-I don't want to end up like Georgia!" Wash stammered in panic.

"Oh, for God's sake..." Carolina raised her grappling hook and fired at Wash, catching him right in the codpiece.

"Huh? WHOOOOOAAAAA!" Wash suddenly felt himself getting pulled through space like he was being dragged by a speeding horse, bashing through some pieces of junk, one of which got stuck to his visor.

Then Carolina yanked on her grappling gun like a fisherman making his big catch and pulled Wash into the Pelican where he bounced clumsily into the loading bay just seconds before the bay doors shut.

Some distance away, the nuclear bomb bumped into a fragment of ship and detonated in a massive explosion. The Freelancers braced themselves as the fiery blast billowed towards the Pelican... but aside from the ship getting jostled by the shockwaves, the explosion did little damage to its outside, although the Freelancers were knocked into the seats.

"Everyone okay back there?" Four Seven Niner called out from the cockpit.

"Never better," York muttered sarcastically, "Thanks for asking."

As the Freelancers untangled themselves from the seats, the Director got on the radio, "What the heck just happened, people? Tell me you accomplished your mission."

"Negative, Sir," Carolina replied, "Their leader escaped."

North gave a heavy sigh, "Well, looks like the enemy lives to fight another day."

"Again," South added.

"That is most unfortunate," the Director murmured, "Are all agents accounted for?"

The Freelancers all swapped knowing glances.

"All except C.T., sir," Rhode answered, "She's gone."

The Director was silent for a moment, "Define 'gone', agent."

Rhode just turned to the others as Wash pulled off the piece of junk from his helmet, revealing it to be a discarded Project Freelancer badge...

 **XXX**

 **C.T. has gone over to the dark side. Dun dun dun dun dudun dun duduuuuuun! And I just decided to name the leader guy Mark simply because he needed a name, and I had Markiplier on my mind, so... yeah. Till next time guys!**


	5. Chapter 4: The New Kid

**Chapter 4: The New Kid**

 **FREELANCER TRAINING FACILITY**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

Two days had passed since the battle at the scrap yard. On board the Mother of Invention, the staffs were on high alert as they kept their ears open for any news of the Insurrection or of C.T. and the Freelancers were training every other hour to prepare themselves for combat, checking every and any variable in the field...

Today it was North's turn for combat training and he was prepared for the test ahead, but first, he was showing York, Rhode, and Washington the change he'd undergone for the challenge ahead.

Wash just stared down at an area between North's legs for several minutes before he spoke, "I expected it to be... bigger."

"Why?" York asked puzzled, "You've seen mine. It's small too."

"Yeah, but he's green."

"How does that even make sense?" Rhode asked.

"Hey, Wash, quit staring," North cut in, "You're making it nervous."

"Yeah," Wash replied, "It's just... they're so small!"

"Small, yeah," York admitted, "But you wouldn't believe what it can do!"

"Besides, you better get used to it," North added, "You're going to have one of your own, soon enough."

"Oh, give me a break," South scoffed, stepping past the guys as she entered.

North just shook his head then looked down at his legs, "It's alright, Theta. Come on out. People just want to say hello to you."

As he spoke, a tiny figure peeked out from behind one of North's legs and Wash got his first proper look at it. Like Delta, the figure was five inches tall and looked much like a Spartan-II, but unlike Delta, it was colored red with dark blue armor parts.

"I don't know," the figure muttered in a nervous, childlike voice, "There's so many of them. And they're so... big."

"See?" Wash cried, "I'm not the only one who thinks size is important."

Rhode rolled his eyes, "I'm just going to let that one go..."

"It's ok, Theta," North assured the little figure, "They're all friends of mine... for reasons beyond my comprehension."

Theta flicked up onto North's shoulder but then he shied away, "They're looking at me."

"That's 'cause they want to meet you," North replied, "This is York, Rhode, and Wash."

Wash raised his hand slightly, "Hey there, little... computer dude."

"Give it a rest, Wash." York stepped forward and gave his most winning smile, "Theta, I have a friend just like you. His name is Delta."

Theta looked up at this, "Really?"

"Yeah!" York beamed, "Here, you wanna say hello to him?"

Rhode gave a concerned look, "Um... York?"

"It's ok, man, just for a second."

Then Delta appeared on York's shoulder and regarded the other AI, "Hello, Theta, I am Delta. It is nice to meet you."

Theta gave a nervous wave, "H-hello."

"See?" North smiled, "Everybody here is nice. Isn't that right, Delta?"

The green AI frowned at this, "Agent North, I do not feel qualified to make a judgment about humans with whom I have only limited experience. So 'nice' is a rather subjective term for-"

"Delta..." York warned.

"Oh, yes! Everyone here is 'nice'... within standard acceptable deviations."

"Delta!"

North then turned to look over his shoulder, "And that's my sister over there, South. We're twins."

Theta waved hello to South but she just glared back at him, "I have a sister."

Wash raised an eyebrow, "You do?"

"We have many siblings."

Wash's other eyebrow went up, "What do you mean by-"

"Hello, everyone!"

Theta yelped at that voice and disappeared while the Freelancers stood to attention as the Director and the Counselor stepped out of the observation room.

"I hope you're ready to begin our test," The Director then turned to York's AI, "Delta! I believe you know the protocol about communicating directly with other AI units."

"I apologize, Sir," Delta replied, bowing his head slightly, "I will log off."

"Don't!" the Director cut in, "I want you to help administer the test. Gentlemen, if you will take the floor."

With that, South, York, Rhode, and Wash followed the Director into the observation deck while North stepped into the main training room, "Ok, just like we practiced."

Theta reappeared on North's shoulder and glanced up shyly at the observation deck, "Are they all going to watch?"

"Of course," North replied, "They wanna see if you're as good as I said you are."

"Really?" Theta looked more reassured, "Well, I guess that's ok."

"That's the spirit!" North beamed, "Come on, let's do this!"

 **XXX**

In the observation room, the Director turned to the green AI on York's shoulder, "Delta, I expect you to follow protocol at all times."

"We were only attempting to make the new unit more comfortable," Delta began.

"It's my fault, Sir," York interrupted, "I asked him to. The new kid seems kind of shy."

"Agent North was paired with Theta for a reason," the Counselor explained, "His nurturing nature is best suited to care for Theta's... unique personality."

"Yeah," York agreed, casting a glance at South, "He is used to looking out for people, isn't he?"

"Quite," The Counselor nodded, "Delta, your skills are more... analytical in nature."

"If I may disagree," Delta butted in, "Theta has made double the number of declarative statements since my appearance. That indicates 100% increase in confidence since we modified our interaction strategy. I think that speaks volumes to my caring algorithms."

The Counselor mulled that over for a moment, "You make an excellent point, Delta. Let's begin the test."

York nodded then turned with Wash Rhode, and South to watch North as he stepped into the middle of the arena, sniper rifle in hand and Theta raring to go.

"Begin the test," the Director announced.

At once, four turrets rose up from the floor on hidden panels. Quickly, North pressed a button on his right wrist then just as the turrets opened fire, Theta threw out his arms and a huge energy shield swept up around North, deflecting the gunfire.

The Counselor turned to the watching Freelancers, "As you may recall, Agent North used his equipment in the field on a previous mission."

Delta nodded, "He was able to successfully maintain the deflective shield for 3.4 seconds in order to block an explosive projectile attack."

"And he somehow managed not to kill himself in the process," the Director finished grimly.

"The maneuver only had a .1% chance of success," Delta pointed out, "Had he performed it 999 more times, I'm rather certain he would've been obliterated on each one."

"Hey, I'd rather be lucky than good any day," Rhode said with a shrug.

"You usually are," Wash joked glancing at Rhode's arm.

"I wouldn't call 'losing my arm' luck," Rhode retorted.

"Luck will only take one so far," the Director argued, "I am in the business of getting results. Let's see what Theta can do. Delta, reduce shield strength by 50%."

Delta brought up a holographic screen in front of him and began typing on it, "Modifying..."

In the arena, the shield around North and Theta suddenly began to flicker and North gasped as a bullet just grazed his shoulder, "Power dropping! Theta, use the remaining power to compensate for critical tiles!"

"Okay!" Theta swept his arms forward and the shield powered down, save for three hexagonal tiles in front of each of the turret's fire which blocked the hits.

"Add variables," the Director ordered.

"Acknowledged," Delta replied, typing on the screen again.

At once, the turrets began to spin around the room and then raced up and down above North, but Theta followed all the movements, lighting up the critical tiles where possible.

"Great job, Theta!" North cheered.

"Stop talking to me!" Theta yelled, keeping his focus on the turrets, "You'll mess me up!"

"Right, sorry."

"Reset," the Director commanded.

Delta swept his hand across the screen and at once, the turrets returned to their spots on the floor and the shield became fully powered once more.

The Director switched on the microphone, "Agent North, your objective now is to eliminate all targets."

As he spoke, four more turrets rose up from the floor and opened fire on the shield, "Begin."

"I thought the shield works both ways," Wash cried, "There's no way for him to attack."

In the arena, North turned to his AI partner as he raised his sniper rifle, "Theta, analyze turret rate of fire then adjust shield to match."

"Okay..." Theta swept his hands around for a few seconds, "Done."

North took aim, "Firing, on my mark."

"Ready!"

"Mark!"

As North pulled the trigger and fired the rifle, time seemed to slow down around him. As the bullet approached the shield, Theta swept his hands back and let the shield open just enough for the bullet to pass through then resealed it again... seconds before the bullet took out the turret then time sped up again. North then turned to another turret and they repeated the strategy seven times until all the turrets were taken out.

"All target eliminated," Delta announced.

"Test complete," the Director declared, "Excellent work!"

The shield switched off and North and Theta stepped forward to take a bow.

In the observation deck, all was silent.

Then Rhode broke it with his remark. "Wow!! That was incredible!"

"HAHA YEAH!" York cheered, "What did I tell ya?"

"And we're sure they don't get any bigger?" Wash asked.

York gave a hearty chuckle and punched Wash playfully on the shoulder, "Dude, you are killing me with that!"

 **XXX**

 **There was a lot of opportunities for Tucker to say Bow chicka bow wow in this chapter... Till next time guys!**


	6. Chapter 5: What's the I Stand For?

**Chapter 5: What's the "I" Stand For?**

 **FREELANCER CLASSROOM**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

As the Counselor gave his lecture on the AI Theory under the watchful eye of the Director, Carolina took a moment to quickly glance around the room. The classroom she was sitting in had five rows of desks, divided by two staircases. She remembered stepping into this room the first time she came aboard the Mother of Invention, taking in all the details that the Director told her about the Project.

She then took in the rest of the helmetless Freelancers that sat in the room. The rows on the very left were empty. In the next row, North was in the front seat with Theta, who was fooling around on a little skateboard, and Washington sat behind him next to York and Delta. In her arrangement, Wyoming sat at the very front rubbing his moustache, South was seated in front of her, Rhode sat next to Carolina, and at the very back was Maine, his face obscured by the glowing orange figure that stood by him, Sigma, Carolina's old AI.

The Director gave a loud cough and Carolina hastily turned back round, mumbling a quick apology.

But fortunately, the Counselor didn't notice her apparent lack of concentration, "And as the Director accurately predicted in his thesis on the subject, we see that cognitive impression modeling can be separated from the host. Naturally, this remains an inherently deconstructive process. But most of all, the biggest concern of any full AI entity is the prospect of rampancy, which we covered last week."

The Director then took up the lecture, "Of course our AI units are what we call fragments, so there's very little chance that a personality subroutine can run off unchecked."

The Counselor nodded at this, "Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, I got a question," South replied, raising her hand, "Why do we need to learn all this stuff?"

Carolina answered the question before the Counselor could, "AI theory is like vehicle maintenance, South. If we're going to use this equipment, any equipment, we need to know how to take care of it."

"Oh yeah, like a coffee maker or a vacuum cleaner."

Theta fell off his skateboard in shock and Delta just glared at her, "That was rather rude."

"Oh, cry me a river, light bulb," South retorted.

"No, not the same as that," Rhode argued.

"I don't even have one 'cause someone didn't bring enough to share," South countered. "So why am I sitting through this elementary classroom bullcrap?"

"I don't have one either, South," Carolina said.

"That's only because you gave yours to Maine," York reminded her.

"He needed to be able to communicate after his injury."

"Oh yeah," South scoffed, "That's the only reason you did it. You're a real hero, Carolina. It's not like Maine has much to say anyway."

At this, Maine sat up with an angry growl but Sigma held up a hand to stop him then turned round, "I would like to say just how appreciative the two of us are for Carolina's sacrifice."

He turned and smiled at her, "Agent Carolina, Rhode, if anyone can excel without an AI unit, it is you two."

Carolina nodded, "Thank you, Sigma."

"Same," Rhode replied.

"And Agent Texas, of course. That goes without saying."

"Right."

"I notice she doesn't have to attend class," South said.

"Agent Texas doesn't need this training," the Director replied.

"What the Director's trying to say," the Counselor cut in, "is that Agent Texas had already completed her AI Theory course work. I think that's enough for today."

The Freelancers made to stand up but then Sigma raised his hand, "If I may, Counselor, I just have one last question."

"Oh, come on," York sighed as they sat down again.

"It's about the different levels of AI awareness and rampancy."

"Ah yes," the Counselor said, "Melancholia, anger-"

"Specifically in the fourth stage of rampancy."

The Counselor raised an eyebrow, "Meta-stability."

"Yes, the meta stage, in which an AI can be considered fully human."

"That is only theoretical, Sigma. No AI has ever achieved such a state."

Sigma's fires burned more brightly, "But it is possible."

"In theory, but-"

"But possible. I find that very interesting."

"Remember, Sigma, you're not even a full AI. You are what we call a fragment, so something of that magnitude would be even more difficult for an entity such as yourself."

Sigma nodded slowly, "Well, as the Director always says, it is important to have ambition."

The Director smiled at this, "Why, yes it is. Class is dismissed."

With some grateful sighs, the Freelancers stood up and climbed up the stairs out of the classroom.

Theta set off after North, but Delta paused at the doorway when he saw his other fellow AI fragment stepping toward the board, "Sigma, are you coming?"

"Yes, yes," Sigma replied impatiently, "We will be joining you shortly."

As Delta left, Sigma turned back to the board and opened up a folder showing the Artificial Intelligence Matrix, marked with the letters of the Greek alphabet. After a few experimental cycles, he managed to make a symbol made up of the letters: Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Theta, Iota, Xi, Sigma and Omega. Satisfied with his work, he turned and followed Maine out of the classroom, thus missing the screen flashing up the warning:

Meta-stability Analysis is not exact...

 **XXX**

 **And the Meta's plot officially begins! Thanks Elijah Wood... Till next time guys!**


	7. Chapter 6: Oversight

**Chapter 6: Oversight**

 **LONGSHORE SHIPYARDS (FOB)**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

As the sun began to rise over the docks, a seagull flew in from the ocean and landed on an off-white object floating next to an old waterlogged timber. It gave a loud caw as it perched and then began to straighten its feathers... before it was suddenly hit by a sniper round in a burst of blood and feathers.

On the docks, the gathered team of snipers gave a loud cheer as the leader lowered his rifle with a smile, "Nailed it! Now that's what we call a bird's-eye."

As they turned away to celebrate, the object in the water began to surface... revealing it to be the helmet of a Spartan-II holding a sniper rifle. Wyoming gave a little nod and a second Spartan in blue ODST armor peeked round from behind the timbers as he raised the scope up and spied on the gathering Insurrectionists.

 **XXX**

 _To the Director of Project Freelancer, Doctor Leonard Church_

 _Dear Director,_

 _Allow me to introduce myself. I am a representative of the newly formed UNSC Oversight Sub-Committee. Our organization is charged with the protection of high-level assets of the military, one of which recently went missing. These assets are entrusted to our program as a privilege, not as a right. As such, they will be safeguarded with the utmost care. In these dark times, mankind has the opportunity not only to prove his humanity, but to earn it._

 **XXX**

After a while, the other Freelancer patted Wyoming's shoulder and pointed to the skies. Wyoming turned round in time to see a Falcon-Class transport copter swooping down towards the docks. "Well, third craft this afternoon. Let's see who else is arriving."

 **XXX**

 _I look forward to a long, and mutually beneficial, relationship for our two departments._

 _Yours truly,_

 _Malcolm Hargrove, Assistant to the Oversight Sub-Committee Chairperson_

 **XXX**

Wyoming turned back to the docks and watched as the Insurrectionists ran towards the landing pad and stand to attention, then three of the Insurrectionists broke off from the group to watch the Falcon come in. Wyoming raised his scope up to examine them.

The soldiers were dressed in the standard armor of the high-ranking Insurrection soldiers, steel-grey with maroon accents. One soldier carefully scratched the side of his helmet with his robotic arm, the second soldier pulled off her helmet and flicked back her long blonde hair, and the third soldier folded his muscular arms. Instantly, Wyoming realized that these soldiers matched the description Carolina, Rhode, and York had told him of the ones that gave them trouble when they secured the Sarcophagus; simply codenamed Red Leader, Blondie, and Sleeveless.

As the soldiers watched, the Falcon landed and two figures stepped out of the bay, one wearing the same armor as the top soldiers and the other in brown armor with white highlights on her armor and EOD helmet.

Red Leader stared in amazement at the soldier walking next alongside their commander, "It's her."

"I can't believe he trusts her after what she did to us," Blondie growled while Sleeveless just nodded in agreement.

Out in the ocean, Wyoming observed the disembarking soldiers and as he spotted C.T., he gave a wry grin, "There she is."

Quickly he switched on the radio in his helmet, "Come in, Command. Tell the Director she's here."

 **XXX**

At that moment, C.T. paused in her stride and Wyoming and his partner ducked back into the water, just seconds before she turned round.

Mark turned round as she looked, "What is it?"

C.T. stared at the ocean for a moment then turned round with a shake of her head, It's nothing, come on."

She set off again and Mark followed her, glancing out to sea for a brief moment.

 **XXX**

High up in space, on board the Mother of Invention, the Counselor and the Director were busy examining the results of their Freelancers' training.

"Congratulations, Director," the Counselor beamed, "Another successful test."

The Director nodded, "Another fragment was harvested this morning, Counselor. Find it a match."

The Counselor raised an eyebrow, "This morning? That is ahead of schedule."

"Our time grows short. Find it a match."

Just then, the main door slid open and Carolina strode in, taking off her helmet and giving them a quick salute, "Director, Wyoming reported in."

The Director looked up at this, "And?"

Carolina looked slightly nervous, "You won't like what he found, sir."

"Agent Carolina, information never displeases me. It's ignorance that I find unforgivable. Report."

"It's like you said," Carolina replied, "C.T. is with them."

At this, the Director's lips became firm and his eyes looked very displeased indeed, "You know what to do. I do not need to remind you how valuable our technology is, Carolina."

She frowned at this, "She doesn't have an AI, sir. And she wasn't exactly the best agent."

"C.T. will be an acceptable loss. But her armor must not fall into the wrong hands."

"I understand." Carolina nodded, "Will we be the only forces sent out on this mission, sir?"

"Leave personnel decisions to me, agent," the Director snapped, leaning forward on his desk, "Just do your job! It's time to cut the head off the enemy once and for all!"

"Yes, sir." Carolina turned on her heel and marched out of the room, giving a quick glance at the leader board as she did and glaring at Texas's name still right above her name.

 **XXX**

 **And time to go after C.T.! Till next time guys!**


	8. Chapter 7: Fall from Heaven

**Chapter 7: Fall from Heaven**

 **MOTHER OF INVENTION HANGAR A1**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

"No, no!" Four Seven Niner yelled crossly, "This one goes here, that one goes there!"

The trooper gave an annoyed sigh as he started pushing the crate he'd been hauling back the way he'd come. Four Seven Niner rolled her eyes and resumed the preflight checks on her Pelican. Good helpers were so hard to come by...

She then heard the sounds of affable chatter and she turned to see Carolina, Rhode, North, South, York and Washington entering the hangar.

"Wrecked him?" York was saying, "It near killed him."

"York, how many times are we gonna have to listen to this story?" Rhode sighed, "Get a new one."

"We ready?" Carolina called to the pilot.

"Just about," Four Seven Niner replied, "Running final checks now..."

"Alright, you heard her!" Carolina yelled to her team, "Everyone on board!"

"About time," Rhode cried.

"Great," Wash muttered.

"Alright," North beamed.

"C'mon D, let's go," York said to his AI, ""Let's get this mission going."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on a minute," Four Seven Niner jumped down from the Pelican and pointed to Delta, "What is that thing?"

"This is Delta, our new addition," York replied.

"Your new addition is pretty small."

"I said the same thing," Wash muttered to himself.

"Delta is a computer program," Rhode explained, "He helps us figure stuff out. He's an AI."

"Oh, AI, huh?" the pilot asked, folding her arms, "What's the 'A' stand for?"

"Artificial."

"I know what it stands for!" Four Seven Niner snapped, "What's it doing here? Isn't it like one of those robots who takes people's jobs and puts them out of work?"

York frowned, "I don't think so."

Four Seven Niner was about to make a snappy retort when she spotted the trooper staring at Delta, "What are you looking at?! I said put it over there, pay attention!"

With a groan, the trooper turned and continued pulling the crate.

"Hey guys," Carolina called from the bay door, "Get a move on."

"Hang on a minute." Four Seven Niner turned to Delta, "You, green guy, do you know how to fly a plane?"

Delta looked slightly baffled, "No, I do not."

"Oh, right, we're cool then," Four Seven Niner said with some relief, "Everyone on board!"

As the Freelancers ran into the Pelican's loading bay, the trooper called out to the pilot, "Is this okay?"

"Not over there, over here!" Four Seven Niner sighed, "Just quit screwing around and put that thing back where you found it."

"Oh man..." the trooper sighed, slamming his head onto the crate.

The pilot made her way into the flight deck and strapped herself into the pilot's seat next to Carolina.

"This is Four Seven Niner," she announced on her radio, "We are wheels up and engine's hot. Leave a light on for us, Command."

"Roger that, Four Seven Niner," the radio operator replied, "Good luck."

"Thanks, command. Four Seven Niner out," As she switched off the radio, she shook her head, "Man, I would hate to have that guy's job."

With that, she switched on the engines and the Pelican took off out of the hangar and out into the depths of space...

 **XXX**

As the Pelican entered the planet's atmosphere, York felt the ship judder with the turbulence and turned to the flight deck, "We parking?"

"Indeed we are," Four Seven Niner replied, "The enemy base is right below us."

"How far below?" Wash called.

"Do you really wanna know?"

"Probably not... do I want to know?"

"Seventy-five thousand feet."

Wash gulped nervously, "Uh, that's high."

"No wonder you guys need a computer program," Four Seven Niner muttered to herself, "Yes, that's very high."

"That is approximately 14.2 miles," Delta added.

"Thanks, D," York sighed, "You don't need to do that anymore."

"Automatic conversion routines, offline."

In the flight deck, Carolina climbed out of the co-pilot's seat, "What's the plan?"

"Well, we know they're ready for us," the pilot replied, "So I figure they have defenses pointed in every direction. Except..."

Carolina quickly got her meaning, "Except... they're probably not looking straight up."

Four Seven Niner nodded, "They're probably not looking straight up."

"You thinking about a dive-bomb?"

"Oh no," Wash cried.

"Sort of," Four Seven Niner replied, "But if we did a dive-bomb, our engines would register on their thermals and let them know that we're coming. I'm thinking... something else."

Carolina patted the pilot's shoulder for luck then ran into the rear bay and sat next to Wash, "Probably wanna tighten that harness."

"Oh no!" Wash cried again, as the Freelancers lowered their harnesses over their chests.

"Express elevator goin' down!" With that, Four Seven Niner cut the power in the engines and the Pelican abruptly stopped in midair then plummeted towards the ground at breakneck pace.

As the whole ship began to shudder, Wash clung onto his harness like his life depended on it, "I think I'm gonna be sick!"

"You know these suits are supposed to eliminate all waste," Carolina called, "You could probably throw up in your helmet and it would take care of it for you!"

"Yeah!" Rhode teased, "You should test that, Wash!"

"You two are jerks!" Wash snapped.

"Actually, Rhode," Delta cut in, "We were never able to get the vomit disposal patch beyond beta. Agent Washington would likely drown."

"Yikes," York grimaced, "Way to kill the mood, D."

"Hey York," Four Seven Niner called out, "Send that little green guy up here."

"D, you heard her! Front and center!"

With a nod, Delta disappeared from York's shoulder then reappeared on the flight deck's console, "May I be of assistance?"

"Hey, buddy," Four Seven Niner said, "I need you to tell me when I can fire the jets at the last possible second. You know, to avoid crashing."

"Please don't say crashing!" Wash yelled.

"I understand," Delta replied, "To prepare, I will need to calibrate your reaction time."

"Fine," Four Seven Niner replied, "Go ahead."

"When I say 'mark', you say 'sync'. Mark."

"Sync."

"Mark."

"Sync!"

"Calibration complete."

"So, we're good?"

"I have high degree of confidence we will be able to complete this maneuver," As he spoke, Delta's body suddenly flashed off for just a split-second then on again.

"Wait a second," Four Seven Niner cried, "Why did you just blink like that?"

"That was just a standard maintenance routine," Delta replied.

"Dude, did you just make a backup of yourself?"

"Confidence is one thing, but it is always prudent to prepare for failure."

The pilot shook her head. "That's a jerk move, green guy."

"I apologize if I have offended-"

"Jerk. Move."

"Prepare to fire engines on my mark." Four Seven Niner grabbed the lever as Delta began the countdown, "Five, four, three-"

In the bay, the Freelancers braced themselves for impact...

 **XXX**

On the edge of the docks, two Insurrectionist soldiers stood on guard, keeping their eyes out for an attack.

For a while, they were silent then one soldier turned to his teammate and spoke, "Hey."

"Yeah?" the other soldier asked.

"You ever wonder why-" Suddenly, a Pelican dropped down right behind them, its jets firing at just the last second.

"First floor!" Four Seven Niner called to her passengers as she opened the bay doors, "Everyone out!"

"Go, go, go!" York yelled, snatching up his shotgun as he led the charge out, "Let's move people!"

Carolina meanwhile pressed a button on her hip then braced herself against the wall, "Yeah, let's move."

At once, her speed unit kicked in and she charged out the bay, grabbing onto the Pelican's underside before propelling herself down, and landed right in the middle of some gathered Insurrectionists. The other Freelancers landed beside her, whipped out their weapons and charged right into the fray.

Just then, two Warthogs armed with gauss-guns came roaring onto the dock and the soldiers fired a blast at them, sending the Freelancers flying back. Rhode quickly hopped on some boxes to get to higher ground. Quickly, Carolina ran up to the nearest car and used it to leapfrog up to the higher platform next to Rhode.

Meanwhile, the twins took cover by a large crate.

"South, stay behind me!" North ordered, as he fired at the Warthogs to draw their fire away from Carolina, "Go, go, go!"

Wash and York ran around another container and charged towards the jeeps.

"York, move up!" Wash yelled.

"On it!" York charged forward but was then thrown back into the crate by an explosion and slumped to the ground, "Screw grenades..."

Wash quickly ran right in the middle of the Warthogs and clenched his fist, making it glow with a bright blue light, and then he slammed his hand into the ground, sending out a pulse of energy. Suddenly the Warthogs' engines erupted into sparks and stalled. The gunners leapt down from behind the turrets, only to be taken out by South. By then, York had recovered and he and Wash charged for the main shipyard.

 **XXX**

In the observation room, C.T. watched the battle in horror, "They're here! I didn't think they'd find me so quickly!"

"It was only a matter of time," Mark muttered, "Let's deal with this!"

He crossed over to an intercom and switched it on, "All hands topside! We are under attack, this is not a drill! Let's go people, MOVE!!!"

 **XXX**

Outside, Carolina whipped out her plasma rifles and fired at the gathering soldiers from the roof but then Rhode pulled her back as the snipers opened fire on her.

Below her, Wash and York ducked behind a shipping container as another Gauss Warthog came into the dock.

"We've got to time it just right!" Wash ordered, "Wait for my mark!"

"Call it," York replied.

Meanwhile, the four snipers continued to fire at Carolina and Rhode as Sniper stepped forward, raising his rifle, "Okay, what have you got for me?"

He fired a shot and just missed Carolina's head as she ducked behind the crate.

"Alright, boys, me first!" she pulled out a grenade and threw it at the snipers but Sniper turned and fired it right out of midair.

"Now!" Wash and York dashed out of cover and fired at the snipers, only to be driven back by the Warthog, "No, wait! Not now, not now!"

"Come on!" York groaned.

"Crap!" As Carolina ducked another shot from H.S., she quickly got on the radio, "North, we're pinned down, I need you to take them out!"

By the disabled Warthog, North observed the situation through his sniper scope.

"I can't get a line of sight on the target from here..." He then gave a cheeky smile, "But I might have a way to contain them."

"Just do it!" Carolina ordered.

North stepped back and started pressing a button on his right wrist, "Theta!"

At the word, Theta appeared in a flourish of fireworks, "Ready!"

"I'm putting up a hail-Mary! I need you to guide me!"

"Okay!"

North then pulled out a device from his armor and Theta jumped right into it, making it glow purple. He then stepped back and looked up at the snipers.

"They say the best offense, is a good defense!"

And he hurled the device as hard as he could. The device flew high up into the air before turning and landing right behind the snipers.

"What the...?" Sniper gasped.

Then suddenly the snipers were surrounded by North's Domed Energy Shield.

"Hold your fire, people!" Sniper warned his team, "Stand down."

At his command, the snipers lowered their weapons but one sniper whipped out his SMG, "I got this."

"No, wait!" Sniper cried.

But it was too late. The soldier fired his gun and the bullet bounced off the shield and hit him in the head. As he fell, the gun kept firing and the bullets ricocheted all around the shield, taking down the others. Carolina and Rhode watched as the inside of the shield became coated with blood then it switched off and the snipers fell to the ground dead.

"Did I get 'em?" North asked over her radio.

"Yeah, North," Rhode replied, "You got 'em."

North chuckled and turned to his AI partner as he reappeared on his shoulder, "Thanks for the help, Theta."

"You are welcome," Theta replied.

"Okay, we're moving!" North alerted the others, "York, you guys can handle it from here, right?"

"Handle it? Sure," York replied with false nonchalance, "I mean, I nearly got blown up a minute ago, and now I'm paired with the squad's second worst fighter. But sure, we can handle."

"Great! North out."

Wash turned to York, looking rather hurt, "You really think I'm the second worst fighter?"

"No, I was being nice," York retorted, "You're easily the worst."

Just then, he was punched to the side by a black fist.

"You were saying?" Wash then turned and found himself face to face with the burly Sleeveless, "Uh oh."

Sleeveless then knocked Wash down next to York before pulling out a rocket launcher and firing. As the Freelancers dived out the way, Wash fired his battle rifle and shot the launcher out of Sleeveless' arms. Then a Warthog barreled onto the dock and turned its turret towards them.

"Uh oh," Wash gulped as he jumped to his feet and ran off, the Warthog in hot pursuit, "CAR!!!"

"Dang it!" York got to his feet and fired at Sleeveless, but the Insurrectionist ducked the blast and knocked the shotgun out of his hands before rugby-tackling him to the ground.

Carolina opened fire at Sleeveless who simply rolled away from the shots then her rifles began to overheat.

Rhode spotted Wash being chased by the Warthog, driven by Blondie and Red Leader, "Oh crap. No you don't!"

He and Carolina leapt down from the balcony and Rhode kicked Blondie off the turret then pounced forward but Blondie kicked him off. Quickly regaining her footing after landing, Carolina raised her plasma rifles and fired but Red Leader backed the Warthog in front of Blondie, blocking the hits.

Then he raised a shotgun in his robotic arm and pointed it to Rhode, "Sup. It's payback time!"

Rhode stared at the robot arm, "Copycat..."

Carolina and Rhode dived out of the way of the shot but then Blondie opened fire with her pistol.

Nearby, York got up and ran for his shotgun but nearly ran into Sleeveless. He quickly pounded into the Insurrectionist with powerful punches then knocking him aside, he grabbed up his shotgun and pounded it into Blondie's gut before raising it up and cocking it. But then Blondie ducked down as Red Leader sent his jeep into a swerve and bashed York back into the crate.

"Oh, my head," York groaned as he slumped to the ground.

On the other side of the crate, Wash assessed the situation then pulled out a small pad from his belt, "Okay, time to fight fire with fire!"

With that, he threw the pad out into the battlefield and then pressed a button on his wrist.

As Blondie and Sleeveless charged towards Carolina and Rhode, the pad between them began to flash a red light... and then a huge drop-pod came crashing down right on top of it. Blondie and Sleeveless skidded to a stop at the crash then whirled round to stare at the pod. Then the hatch was kicked open, just missing Blondie as it soared over her head, and she and Sleeveless looked up... to see the six-foot figure of Agent Maine stepping out of the pod, growling as he stared at the Insurrectionists.

Then Sigma appeared on his right shoulder, "Agent Maine, isn't that the soldier from the freeway, the one that shot you in the throat?"

Maine closed his eyes and growled again, the Insurrectionists reflected on his EVA visor. Then he opened them again, showing a cold and lifeless stare.

"I thought so," Sigma smirked. "Sic 'em."

Maine gave a terrifying roar and charged straight towards the soldiers.

 **XXX**

 **And you have gotten Maine mad, good sir. You are already dead. Till next time guys!**


	9. Chapter 8: Fighting Fire

**Chapter 8: Fighting Fire**

Red Leader drove right past the soldiers and smashed Maine back into his pod, knocking it down. Maine however grabbed hold of the jeep's tow hooks and lifted the front up then he snapped off the hooks and kicked the jeep back into Blondie and Sleeveless, knocking them and Red Leader down.

Washington and York stared at the scene in amazement and then Sigma appeared before them, "Hello, gentlemen."

"Hey, Sig," York beamed with slight concern, "You sure he's good to fight so soon? He was hurt pretty bad."

"As compared to whom, Agent York?" Sigma asked curtly, "You two don't look so good yourselves."

He then noticed Delta on York's shoulder, "Hello, brother."

Delta stepped back in concern, "Sigma, protocol dictates that AI units are not to communicate directly-"

Sigma cut him off as he flashed right up to him, "Protocol is just another way of saying 'rules', Delta. Remember what the Director says: there are no rules on the battlefield."

He smiled as he stepped around Delta and patted his shoulder, "Besides, we AIs should really stick together. Excuse me, I'll be right back."

With that, he disappeared.

York shuddered, "I'll be honest, that one kinda gives me the creeps."

"Yeah, I hear ya," Wash agreed, "Come on, let's move."

With that, they set off towards the main complex.

 **XXX**

Meanwhile, Blondie slowly sat up, only to find Rhode standing over her with his pistol drawn, "Well, hello. What a _pleasure_ to see you again."

But then Red Leader charged up and punched him down with his robotic arm. Rhode staggered to his feet and found that his pistol had been badly damaged. Tossing it aside, he raised his battle rifle, but then a machete hit its side.

"And that's why I don't use these," Rhode muttered.

He turned round to see Blondie wielding those two cursed similar machetes, ""Pleasure's all mine. Let's even you out."

She then charged forward but Rhode dodged the blow and threw his rifle out. Blondie easily cut it in half then ran forward but Rhode knocked her back with some powerful punches.

Red Leader then ran in and punched her aside as Blondie swiped her blades together and charged forward. Carolina quickly leaped back into the fray and fought alongside Rhode.

Nearby, Sleeveless staggered to his feet, rubbing his head. He then heard a growl behind him and turned round to find Maine standing over him, cracking his knuckles and his neck. Quickly Sleeveless swung his fist out but Maine caught it and slowly twisted the arm, bringing the Insurrectionist to his knees. Then Maine drew back his other fist and punched Sleeveless down, crumpling his helmet and knocking it off as Sleeveless fell to the ground, dead. Maine then turned and spotted Carolina and Rhode still battling Red Leader and Blondie on a higher platform and charged forward to help.

Rhode ducked and jumped to avoid Blondie's swings then swung out his legs to kick her back before punching her aside. Then Red Leader charged forward and swung out his robotic arm at Carolina, but she jumped up and kicked him back. Then she jumped to her feet, pulled out an electric baton and charged forward. She swung out at Red Leader, stunned his side with the baton then kicked him away – straight into Maine who lifted him up and suplexed him into the floor.

"Away with you!" Red Leader growled as he got to his feet.

Maine then charged towards him but Red Leader swung his robotic arm out under his legs and sent him flying into Rhode and Carolina, knocking them down. Carolina and Rhode righted themselves and charged back into the fray while Maine pulled out his brute shoe and fired an RPG at Red Leader, but he grabbed it in his robotic hand and flung it back to Maine, seconds before it exploded.

Red Leader smiled at the plume of smoke where Maine had been standing... but then Maine charged out of the smoke and flung his brute shot out, severing Red Leader's robotic arm with the sharp blade, "AHHHH, my arm! You jerk!"

Maine then barreled into him, knocking him towards the edge then he snatched up his brute shot and fired again and again, sending Red Leader flying off the docks and into the ocean. Maine stood by the edge for a moment then he turned to Carolina.

Blondie swung out her machetes again but Carolina blocked the hits with her baton, then Rhode pounded into the Insurrectionist and smashed her back, knocking off her helmet and sending her tumbling towards the edge. But Blondie grabbed hold before she could fall over.

Then a robotic hand reached out to her and she took it gratefully, letting it lift her up... only to find the arm was being held by Maine, "What? Crap..."

Maine just gave a sinister smile then let go of the arm, sending Blondie screaming over the edge before the screams were cut off by a sickening thud followed by a splash as her body hit the waters below...

 **XXX**

 **As we know, this wasn't the end for Blondie, but it delayed her for quite a while. Till next time guys!**


	10. Chapter 9: CT

**Chapter 9: C.T.**

 **ENEMY COMMAND COMPLEX**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

High on a walkway inside the packing room, the Blue Freelancer watched as C.T. and Mark marched down the hallway, flanked by two soldiers carrying Gatling-guns. Next to them, a huge crane swung down and shifted a crate up to a higher floor. Suddenly Mark raised a hand and C.T. spun around, raising her magnums.

Mark then pulled out a collapsible tomahawk and turned around, throwing it up, "Catch!"

Taking unawares, the blue Freelancer on the top of a ledge was hit right in the chest. He tumbled through the air then crashed heavily to the ground.

"Surprise..." Mark then turned to the two soldiers at his side, "We've got company coming. Cut them down!"

With a giggle from one and a moan from the other, the two soldiers stepped forward and raised their weapons. Like Mark, they were wearing steel-grey armor with maroon accents but one soldier had a smiley face painted on his visor while the other had a big frowny face on his, and the tips of their guns was painted in the same way, with two of the barrels replacing the eyes.

Switching on their guns, Smiley and Frowny fired their guns down into the walkway that the Blue Freelancer had been standing on moments ago.

After a while, they stopped firing and Mark stepped forward to look, ""Hold this position."

Then just as the smoke cleared, Wyoming popped out from behind a pillar on their floor and fired at the soldiers, hitting Mark in the knee. Quickly, Smiley and Frowny raised their guns and fired again, forcing Wyoming to dive behind a crate by the the other pillar.

"Mow them down!" Mark ordered, running down the corridor with C.T.

Smiley giggled while Frowny moaned and fired again down the corridor.

Wyoming braced himself on the pillar then he spotted Wash and York running towards him, "Well, about time."

"Hey, Wyoming," York called, taking cover behind the first pillar with Wash, "Did we miss all the fun?"

"Hardly, chaps," Wyoming muttered aloofly, "Now where's our dears Rhode and Carolina?"

As if on cue, Carolina and Rhode came charging in and ducked behind the pillar in front of him, "Ah yes."

"Wyoming, move up!" Carolina ordered.

Wyoming glanced at the consistent gunfire for a moment, "With all due respect, I'd prefer not to be killed, if at all possible."

"York, got any ideas?" Rhode asked.

"I don't know," York replied nervously, "Have we got any nukes?"

"You mean besides the one Carolina's going to drop on Wyoming if he doesn't move up?!"

"Yes, I can see everything just fine from back here," Wyoming called, "Thank you."

"We need to get to that bunker," Carolina growled, "That's where C.T. and their leader are holed up."

"How are we going to get through all of this?!" Wash cried.

"So far, we're not," Wyoming sighed.

"Maybe Wyoming should try one of his knock-knock jokes," Rhode teased.

"Oh, who's there?"

"Nobody, stop."

"Nobody stop who? Shall I go on?"

"Yeah, I was kidding. Now shut up."

"Shut up who?"

"Both of you shut up!" Carolina snapped, "Okay, here's what we're going to do. Wash, you establish a line on that side. York, Rhode, and Wyoming, you-"

But then a flicker of movement flashed right past the gunfire and charged straight towards Smiley and Frowny. Immediately the two soldiers turned their aim towards the movement but then the shimmering shape flickered to reveal a black-armored Spartan.

Carolina gasped as she recognized the figure as Agent Texas, "No!"

As she watched, Texas jumped into the air and tried to punch Smiley, but he dodged aside and she took off past them, switching on her cloak as she did, drawing Smiley and Frowny's aim away from the others.

At once, Carolina jumped out of cover and charged after her, "Cover me!"

"'Cover me'?" York spluttered, "That's the plan?!"

Quickly Wash dashed over to the other side and raised his rifle, "Open fire!"

As he, York, Rhode, and Wyoming fired their weapons, Carolina charged at the two soldiers and leapt over Frowny's back but then Smiley fired at her, knocking her off-balance. She landed hard on the ground but she quickly got up and took off again.

"Carolina!" Rhode tried to run after her but was driven back by the gunfire. "Crap!"

Wash watched as Carolina ran towards the bunker, "Man, she really wants to win."

"Yep," Rhode agreed glumly, "But it's not them she's fighting against."

 **XXX**

C.T. glanced nervously over her shoulder as Mark typed some commands into his computer, "We need to get to the escape vehicle."

"I'm not leaving them!" Mark growled, as behind him, two turrets lowered down from the ceiling and pointed towards the door.

"You don't understand," C.T. begged, "They want me! They don't care about the rest of you. I know too much. If I leave, they'll follow me."

 **XXX**

Outside in the halls, Carolina caught up to Texas as she knelt beside the door.

"Quiet," Texas hissed, "That room is guarded by turrets."

Carolina pressed her head to the door and heard the turrets swiveling towards them, "I can get past them."

She stood up to charge through the door but Texas held her back, "If there was a way to do it, I would have already done it."

Carolina sighed then she switched on her helmet, "York, I need you to cut the power on the main complex."

 **XXX**

In the storage area, York turned to look at the gunfire still being shot from Smiley and Frowny's Gatling-guns, "Little busy out here!"

"Just do it!" Carolina ordered.

"I'll see what I can do," York answered.

Washington overheard the conversation through his helmet radio, "Sounds like a good excuse to get out of this firefight."

Behind him, the Blue Freelancer let out a groan and struggled to his feet.

Wyoming spotted this and beamed at him, "Good show, mate! That's the spirit. Still have a bit of fight in you."

The Freelancer replied, pulling the tomahawk out of his chest as he glared at the two Insurrectionists. He tossed the tomahawk with all his strength. It tumbled through the gunfire towards Smiley and Frowny, only to clatter to the ground and skid to a halt right at their feet.

Smiley and Frowny stared at the tomahawk for a moment then looked at each other, shrugged and resumed their attack.

"So much for that plan," Rhode sighed.

"What now?" Wash cried.

Ducking behind a pillar, the Blue Freelancer glanced around until he spotted the crane picking up a crate from the shelf. He pulled out his assault rifle then fired its grenade launcher at the crane, knocking it off course. The crane swung round behind Smiley and Frowny and knocked them off the walkway with its crate, which then broke loose, tumbled over the edge, and crashed down onto their bodies in a splatter of yellow.

York stared in amazement then let out a cheer, "Ha-HA! I don't believe it!"

The Blue Freelancer dusted his shoulder off with a smile.

 **XXX**

Back outside the bunker, Carolina listened as York got back on the radio, "We're all clear, Carolina. We'll be dark in less than sixty."

"Roger that," Carolina drew out her battle rifle and turned to Texas, "Don't forget our objective. We're just here to retrieve the armor."

"Carolina, I know what the freaking objective is!" Texas snapped, as she drew her weapon.

 **XXX**

Inside the bunker, Mark was still working on the computer when suddenly the screen went dark and the lights switched off, "Darn it!"

As the red emergency lights kicked in, C.T. grabbed his arm and stared at him urgently, "We need to go!"

"I already told you," Mark snapped, pulling away as he grabbed his tomahawk, "I can't leave them!"

"Most of them are already dead! Besides if we leave, they have no reason to be here!" C.T. pulled her data pad out of the computer and stuffed it into her pocket, "Please, let's just go while we still can!"

Mark turned round and glared at her, "Connie, come on!"

"You promised me," C.T. pleaded, "You said we would be together. I have all the information we need. I have my armor. We can take this to the right people and they'll..."

"They'll what, Connie?"

"I don't know; make a deal with us; keep us out of prison! They'll help us!" C.T. grabbed Mark's hand and turned towards the hangar, "Come on, we don't have much time!"

"Actually, you don't have any time," a familiar voice called out behind them.

C.T. and Mark whirled round to see two Spartans standing in the doorway, one dressed in greenish-blue armor and the other in black armor.

"Carolina!" C.T. gasped then she narrowed her eyes at Texas, "And you..."

"Hey Carolina," York called over the radio, "The power is off."

"We noticed," she replied.

"What, no thank you?" York cried, "This was a complicated-"

"Actually," Delta cut in, "I did most of the work, Agent York."

"Give it a rest, D!" York sighed.

Texas stepped forward, keeping her guns trained on the ex-Freelancer, "C.T., you have something that belongs to Project Freelancer, and you know how the Director hates to share."

"You two are fools," C.T. retorted, taking a step closer, "The Director is playing you. Don't you see it?!"

"C.T., stop it!" Carolina snapped, "We know you've been feeding intel to the resistance for months!"

At this, Mark gave out a bark of derisive laughter, "Is that who he told you we are?"

"They aren't the enemy, Carolina," C.T. explained pleadingly, "We're the ones working outside the rules, not them. You don't know what the Director has done. He's broken major laws. When this war ends, we're all gonna have to pay for his crimes!"

She bowed her head sadly, "Maybe some of us are already paying for them."

Texas tightened her grip on her pistols, "You need to stop talking, C.T.!"

"No!" C.T. glared at her crossly, "I know what you are, Tex. And I won't take orders from a shadow."

Texas gritted her teeth and glowered at C.T., "What did you just call me?!"

"You're coming with us, C.T.," Carolina demanded, "This is your last chance."

"No," C.T. replied, "I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Actually, we don't need you," Texas corrected, "We just need you armor."

With that, she raised her gun and fired at C.T., hitting her through the head.

"NO!!!" Mark gasped as he watched her fall... then suddenly her body flickered and disappeared.

It was just a hologram.

Then the real C.T. charged forward and tackled Tex, pinning her arm behind her back before pulling a knife from Texas's belt and stabbing her in the shoulder. Then she kicked her over to Mark, who swung his tomahawk into her chest and knocked her down.

Mark then threw another tomahawk at Carolina, forcing her behind a crate. Then C.T. charged towards her, knife in hand. Carolina fired at her but it was just another hologram and she ducked aside to avoid the real C.T.'s attacks. C.T. hooked her knife into Carolina's rifle and knocked it away then she swung out but Carolina blocked the hit with her electric baton and went on the offensive.

Texas leapt to her feet and charged towards Mark, jumping to avoid the punch. As she landed, she grabbed him by the waist and flipped him over her head, smashing him into the floor. As he tried to get up, Texas kicked him in the head, sending him reeling.

Meanwhile, Carolina and C.T. continued their deadly duel, C.T. swinging out her knife and Carolina lunging out with her baton. Eventually, Carolina gained the upper hand and struck C.T. several times... but then C.T. disappeared, another hologram, and the real C.T. lunged at her, kicking her into Mark who then pushed her away. C.T. then swung out at Texas but she ducked aside then they all charged at each other.

Texas caught Mark's next blow then kicked him in the groin before kicking out at C.T. who swung out at her but Carolina caught the blow with her baton and struck out at her.

Texas punched Mark back then kicked him to the other side of the room. Carolina bashed into C.T. again and again before C.T. summoned another hologram and ducked away. Mark then came charging up from behind but Carolina kicked him back to Texas who grabbed him and punched him right across the room.

Carolina then swung out her baton, knocking the knife out of C.T.'s grasp but she just caught it in her other hand and swung out again. Carolina flipped backwards to avoid the hit then kicked out, knocking the knife away again. Texas then charged forward, tomahawk in hand, and lunged out at C.T., but C.T. ducked aside and summoned another hologram, hoping to confuse Texas.

But not to be put off by this cheap trick, Texas snatched up another tomahawk and swung them both out, taking out the hologram and hitting the real C.T. right in the stomach then she raised her other tomahawk and threw it into C.T.'s shoulder, knocking her back next to the recovering Mark.

"What the heck are you doing?!" Carolina gasped, grabbing Texas's shoulder.

"Completing our objective!" Texas snapped, shaking her off.

"By killing a teammate?!"

"She's not a teammate. She's a traitor."

Then they heard a door sliding open and turned round to see Mark carrying C.T. into the hangar. Quickly they charged forward, but the door had already closed before they got there.

"Crap!" Texas smashed her fist into the door then turned and glared at Carolina, "That's on you! I guess you can explain how we lost a whole suit of armor and failed to capture the leader of the resistance!"

She then got on the radio," Command, we need extraction, now!"

"I've got 'em, Command," 479er replied, "Read you loud and clear, Texas. Clear me an LZ and get ready for pick-up."

Texas nodded and left the room but Carolina stayed behind for a while, scowling at her back, "I don't know what's gotten into you, Texas, but you better figure out the difference between your friends and your enemies."

 **XXX**

Inside the hangar, Mark carried the wounded C.T. onto his escape craft and gently placed her into one of the seats. As he prepped the ship for take-off, C.T. let out a groan of pain and slipped off the seat to the floor.

"Connie?" Mark turned round and took off his helmet then knelt down to help C.T. take off hers, "Connie, it's gonna be okay."

With a wince of pain, C.T. took out her data pad and placed it into Mark's hands.

"Here... take the info. It's not complete but... it'll get them started," she gave out a painful cough then stared into his eyes, "Go... find the new artifact..."

Mark smiled glumly as he ran his hand through her hair, "You just rest, Connie. Just... rest."

C.T. nodded and slowly closed her eyes then she let out a final groan and gave up the fight.

"Connie?" Mark shook her shoulder in horror, "Connie? Connie!"

His face crumbled and he pulled her close to his chest, tears streaming down his cheeks, "No! No..."

 **XXX**

Out on the docks, the Dakotas ran up to Maine as he rubbed his head and blinked his eyes. Then a small ship shot out of the water and took off into the skies. The three Freelancers watched it disappear into the clouds then turned and ran off to join the others.

 **XXX**

Inside the ship, Mark lowered C.T.'s body to the floor then carefully picked up her helmet. He stared at it for a while, taking in the small eye spots and the white shock absorbers, and then he turned it around and slipped it on over his head.

 **XXX**

 **And now Connie is dead... I will admit, her death was rather heart wrenching. Till next time guys!**


	11. Chapter 10: Out of Body

**Chapter 10: Out of Body**

 **FREELANCER TRAINING FACILITY**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

 _Dear Director,_

 _The loss of military equipment is a severe infraction. I should not need to remind you that all UNSC property, especially our more experimental technologies, must be kept out of the hands of our enemies at all costs. In these trying times, vigilance is paramount._

 **XXX**

It was nearing midnight on board the Mother of Invention and all was quiet in the ship's passages. But in the training facility, Carolina was prepping herself for some late-night training, still angry about the last mission. Everything has just gone hopelessly wrong for her ever since Texas had joined the project, but this last mission had taken the biscuit – in fact, it had taken a whole tray of biscuits and some cakes with a steaming pot of tea on the side.

The Director had commended the team for decimating the Insurrectionist numbers, but he also told them off for letting the leader get away with C.T.'s armor. But worst of all, Texas let Carolina take the blame for it, claiming that she had gotten in her way. Carolina tried to argue, but the Director harshly reminded her that she was only second on the leader board and that she shouldn't backtalk the top agent lest she was sent further down the board. In the end, Carolina was forced to accept the consequences, but she never forgot the smug look on Texas's face.

Now she stepped into the middle of the arena, and watched as FILSS summoned two rows of floating green targets around her. At the word, Carolina started punching and kicking the targets, turning them red with each successful hit.

In the observation deck, Rhode sat and observed the battle, sipping from a mug of coffee. Unlike Carolina, he wasn't dressed in his armor, but instead he wore an green T-shirt and a pair of blue pants. With a yawn, he watched as Carolina ordered the floor to reset.

"Still training at this hour?" a voice called out.

Rhode turned round to see Tenn stepping into the deck, wearing a black T-shirt and black pants, "Yeah, she's been like this ever since we got back from the last mission."

"You gotta be kidding me," Tenn muttered, shaking his head, "She's always been like this?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, she never did know what to stop. But now, it's like she doesn't know how to stop, always training. I guess the leader board beckons."

Tenn nodded as he glanced at the leader board then turned back to Rhode, "You know you don't have to watch over her."

"I know, but that's not stopping me from worrying."

"I guess that's understandable."

Rhode just sipped from his mug in thought, "So what are you doing awake?"

"Can't sleep," Tenn sighed, "I haven't been sleeping a whole lot lately. Not since... Well, Zona and Penny."

"Yeah... Hard to get over half of our team dying."

Tenn grimaced, "Yeah. I still find it odd that they never moved from their spot. Or at least warned that the building was going down.

"Tell me about it," Rhode murmured, "Sometimes I think there's stuff they keep away from everyone... And I mean, everyone."

"Quiet down," Tenn said jokingly, "They might hear you."

"Yeah," Rhode joined in, "They might crush me under a building."

The two Freelancers gave out a laugh at this then they heard FILSS announcing the results, "Round complete. A 6.3% increase in efficiency that round, Agent-"

"Run it again, FILSS," Carolina interrupted.

"Resetting training room floor for next round..." The targets turned back to green and Carolina resumed her training.

Rhode watched her for a while then turned to Tenn, switching topics, "These AI... Do you ever wonder why we didn't receive one?"

"Sometimes," Tenn shrugged, "But personally, I don't feel like I should get one. I saw North walking around earlier. He said that Theta got scared at night, so he took a walk to calm down Theta. I'd rather get some sleep."

"I wonder if they're all like this, the AIs," Rhode wondered. "You know, jittery, nervous, no not nervous..."

"Anxious?"

"Yeah, anxious," Rhode agreed, "York told me Delta always thinks that something bad is about to happen. I don't get it. What do they have to worry about?"

"Hey, maybe they know something we don't."

"Maybe," Rhode mused, watching Carolina's training some more.

Behind him, Tenn gave a loud yawn and scratched his hair, "I think I'm gonna go to bed now. Thanks for the talk, Rhode. I needed it."

"Yeah," Rhode nodded, "'Good night, Tenn."

"Don't stay up too late," Tenn advised as he left the deck, "You need your rest."

In the arena, Carolina finished off the other targets.

"Round complete," FILSS announced.

"Run it again," Carolina ordered.

"That last round showed a 3.6% increase-"

"Just run it again!"

"Resetting training room floor..."

The targets went green once more and Carolina went on the attack, taking them out in just under twenty seconds, but still she kept on going, quietly reminding herself to do better than Texas. She would show that black-armored woman. One day, she would take her on and prove to her who was the best Freelancer...

Up in the deck, Rhode lifted his mug and saw that it was empty.

As he got up to retire for the night, he turned and watched as Carolina ordered FILSS to run the test again, "I think we could all use some rest..."

Just when he was about to head down the hallway to his room, he stopped. He turned to look at the hallway that lead down to the training room and thought about it.

'Maybe I can stay up just a bit longer,' he thought.

And he headed in direction of the training room.

 **XXX**

Carolina never stopped. But before she could even interrupt FILSS for the umpteenth time, she herself was interrupted.

"Trouble sleeping?" Rhode asked.

"What are you doing here?" Carolina questioned, taking off her helmet, "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I could ask you the same. In fact, I just did."

"You should get some sleep."

"So should you, but that's not stopping you."

Carolina's frown deepened, "So... Why are you up?"

"Couldn't sleep," Rhode lied, "How about a little spar?"

"Are you sure? You don't even have armor on."

"Believe me, I'll be fine. But one more thing though..."

Rhode walked up to her, "Are you sure you don't want to sleep?"

"I'll be fine," Carolina said.

"No I don't think you will," Rhode insisted, "Why are you doing this?"

Carolina glared, "I think you know why."

"Carolina, I know that you got put in second place, but that's no reason to kill yourself by training too hard."

"I have to! I have to beat Texas!"

"Okay," Rhode then stepped forward and pushed her, "What would you do if she walked in right now and challenged you?"

Carolina stared at him shock, then anger, "I would fight her!"

She pushed him and he only stumbled back a bit. All the proof he needed. He pushed her again.

"Then what?"

She weakly shoved him again, "I'd beat her!"

"You can't even beat me!"

He gave her one last push and she landed on the ground. She sat up and looked up at him in shock and realization. He had a point. If she kept this up, she'll be in no condition to do anything.

He offered her a hand, "Please... Get some rest."

Carolina stared at him. Why was her face feeling so warm? She took his hand and he helped her up.

"Don't be like that..." She muttered.

"Like what?" Rhode asked.

"Being so nice to me..." Carolina mumbled, looking down, "I don't deserve it..."

She felt tears coming to her eyes, but tried to force them back. She couldn't be seen like this, especially in front of Rhode. But she let a few loose when Rhode hugged her.

"It's okay," he reassured, "Just remember: Two is just a stupid number. Even so, you're still number one to me."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" She asked.

He separated and smiled, "Because I care about you Carolina. Now go get some sleep."

As he walked away, Carolina suddenly knew that her face was as red as her hair. What... What did that last bit mean?

 **XXX**

As she walked out and back to her room, she began to think about what Rhode had said. Then her eyes widened in realization. She fell back on her bed.

'I hate my stupid heart for making me feel things...' She thought.

 **XXX**

 **Now ain't that something. Till next time guys!**


	12. Chapter 11: Greenish-Blue with Envy

**Chapter 11: Greenish-Blue with Envy**

 **FREELANCER TRAINING FACILITY**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

In the locker room by the training arena, Wyoming sat on a bench and gave his trusty sniper rifle a quick onceover. He didn't want it to go wrong at the wrong moment. As he worked, he felt a slight headache behind his eyes and he removed his helmet to rub it. Just a few days ago, the Director had assigned him his own AI partner, Gamma. Now he knew how York and North felt when they each got theirs...

Suddenly the door burst open and Carolina came storming in, carrying her helmet in one hand, "Uh, darn it!"

She flung her helmet across the room and it bounced off the leader board and rolled up at Maine's feet.

Seeing the look on her face, Wyoming quickly stood up and went behind the lockers, "I think it's best we give her some space."

Carolina gave an angered sigh and slumped down into a bench, bowing her head. She had tried taking Rhode's advice, but things were going too slow for her. Training wasn't going fast enough. It didn't help that she kept getting distracted with thoughts of Rhode.

Then Sigma appeared on her left shoulder, "Did the training session go poorly, Agent Carolina?"

"No, it went fine," Carolina replied crossly, "Just not good enough..."

Sigma frowned, "That is most unusual for you."

Carolina looked round at one locker marked with the name TEXAS, "Why does she even have a locker in here if she doesn't use our locker room? And what is so special about her?"

"She does seem to get special treatment, doesn't she?" Sigma admitted, rubbing his chin in thought, "Strange, considering she's not the best Freelancer."

Just then, a sky-blue figure appeared on Carolina's other shoulder.

"IT'S PROBABLY BECAUSE OF OMEGA," it said in a very disjointed electronic voice.

"Now, Gamma," Sigma scolded, "We're not meant to speak about Omega. You know the rules."

Carolina turned to the other AI unit, "Well, hello, Gamma. Does Wyoming know you're talking to another AI?"

"I'M NOT TALKING TO ANOTHER AI," Gamma replied, "WE ARE BOTH TALKING TO YOU."

Carolina lowered an eyebrow in thought, "Who is Omega?"

"He is one of our brothers," Sigma replied.

"HE IS THE STRONGEST OF US," Gamma added.

"And Agent Texas has him?" Carolina cried, "She uses an AI?"

"Hmm, I don't think it's our place to say," Sigma answered slowly.

"ALL THE TOP AGENTS HAVE AN AI," Gamma said.

"Well, except you and Rhode, Agent Carolina. You chose not to. Rhode is still not considered worthy."

"That lying..." Carolina clenched her fists in anger and jumped her feet, "This all makes sense now. I've been an idiot. She's not better than me, it's all been Omega!"

She slammed her fist into Texas's locker, denting the door.

"OMEGA'S STRENGTH IS UNMATCHED," Gamma agreed, "I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE CAN BEAT HIM. AT LEAST, NOT ALONE..."

"Hmm, no," Sigma murmured, "Not alone... We are just fragments after all, pieces. Omega and Texas... are something else."

"BUT IF WE WORK TOGETHER..."

"Together?" At this, Sigma's flames burned a little brighter, "What an interesting concept, Gamma."

The blue AI nodded in agreement, "TOGETHER..."

Just then behind them, Maine gave another painful growl and grabbed his head.

Carolina ignored him as a big smile crossed her face, "You've just given me an idea."

"I do hope you'll use it well, Agent Carolina," Sigma replied, also smiling, "Ideas are some of our most potent weapons."

"Don't worry about me," Carolina said as she turned to leave, "I'll be fine."

Sigma watched her go then gave a sinister grin, "Yes, I'm sure you will be."

Then he disappeared.

 **XXX**

Meanwhile, down in the training arena, Texas finished her latest session as the Director and the Counselor went up to join her.

"How do you feel?" the Counselor asked.

"I need to get back into the fight," Texas replied, "These targets just aren't doing it for me."

At that moment, Carolina entered the room, but one of the guards ran up to her, not allowing her in.

The Counselor ignored the argument behind him, "You'll be back in the field soon enough, Texas. For now, just focus on your training."

"I'm tired of training," Texas growled, "I need something else."

The Counselor took down some notes on his electronic pad, "Have you noticed a change in your aggression, Agent Texas?"

Texas raised an eyebrow, "I don't see how that-"

Suddenly the guard went flying between them and landed on the other side of the arena.

The Director turned round to see Carolina stomping onto the arena, shaking her hand, "Carolina, what are you doing here? The training room is off-limits when we-"

"When you're with your pet?" Carolina cut in crossly, "Yes, I know. I don't care. I need to talk to you."

"Pet?!" Texas narrowed her eyes, "You know, Counselor, I think I am noticing a change in my aggression levels."

"Everyone please just remain calm," the Counselor called out, "Carolina, you can use the training room when you are next assigned."

Carolina shook her head, "I want an AI."

The Director raised an eyebrow, "An AI? What has caused this sudden change of heart?"

"It doesn't matter," Carolina replied, "I'm still at the top of the leader board."

"Not the top of the leader board," Texas reminded her.

"And you can keep your comments to yourself," Carolina snapped, "I know all about your little secret, what you really are. The next AI that comes up is mine."

Texas stepped forward until her eyes were locked with Carolina's eyes, "Fill me in, Carolina: what exactly is my little secret?"

"Both of you, stand down!" the Director ordered and the two agents quickly jumped to attention, though Carolina still glared furiously at Texas, "Alright, Carolina, if you want an AI, then you will have an AI. In fact, you can choose: Agents Washington and South Dakota are both due for implantation today. We have two AI; Eta and Iota, ready for field-testing. Which one o' your teammates do you think you should delay? I'll leave that up to you."

The Counselor looked worried, "Director-"

"No! If she thinks our decisions are so easy, then let her make one. What's it going to be, Carolina?"

Carolina thought it over for a moment, "And whatever I choose, you will do?"

"That's right," the Director nodded.

"Then I want them both."

The Counselor stepped back in shock, "Excuse me?"

"Carolina, you cannot have them both," the Director agreed.

"Yes, I can," Carolina pointed to her armor, "These suits, wherever they came from, are designed to handle a full AI, and as you are so fond of telling us, these are not full AI. They are just fragments, and from what I can tell, the newer ones are getting weaker all the time. So I want them both."

She then folded her arms and gave a grim smirk, "Or I'm sorry, is that decision too tough for you?"

The Director gave an angry sneer, "Counselor, move Agents Washington and South Dakota back in the schedule, and prepare Agent Carolina for surgery."

The Counselor frowned nervously, "I think if we let cooler heads prevail, we will-"

"If you wanted to deal with cooler heads, Counselor, perhaps you should have joined the Coast Guard," the Director snapped, "Prep her for surgery."

Carolina nodded in approval, "You won't regret this."

"No, Agent Carolina," the Director replied, with a mysterious smile, "I very much doubt that I will."

With that, he set off out of the arena, followed by the Counselor.

As Carolina made to go, Texas grabbed her shoulder, "Hey, that was gutsy. Hope it works out for you."

Carolina pushed her away, "When it does, you'll be the first to know."

"I look forward to it," Texas retorted.

 **XXX**

 **And Carolina finally went off the deep end. Till next time guys!**


	13. Chapter 12: New and Improved

**Chapter 12: New and Improved**

 **MOTHER OF INVENTION LOCKER ROOM**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

"WHAT?!" South paced around the room in great fury. "This is bullcrap!"

Just seconds ago, the Director had announced over the intercom at the AI implantations for her and Washington had been canceled as Carolina would be accepting both of their respective AIs. North and York were very surprised by this decision, Wash was mildly disappointed, Rhode was absolutely shocked, but South had blown her top like the biggest volcano in the universe.

"South, calm down!" North begged.

"Calm down!?" South bellowed, "That's easy for you to say, you already have an AI. Who the crap is she to take away our place?!"

"Our turn will come," Wash replied, "They've already put me back on the list for-"

"What?!" South approached him slowly, forcing him into a bench, and then with a frustrated groan, she kicked over the bench next to him.

York winced slightly at this, "You ever notice every time you open your mouth, you make things worse?"

"Sorry," Wash murmured.

"After everything we talked about," Rhode muttered to himself, "She goes and does this."

"And two AI?! Why's she so special? What's so special about either of them?!" South swung her fist out and punched Texas's dented locker, forcing the door open and sending its nametag clattering to the ground where it broke in two.

At that moment, Texas came in from behind her, "Pick it up."

"What're you doing in here?" Rhode cried, "You never come in here."

"I've come for Carolina," Texas then turned back to South, "Pick it up."

South glared back at her for several seconds then she knelt down, picked up half the nametag, shoved it into Texas' chest then stormed out of the room, smashing the control panel to the door as she did.

North quickly got to his feet and ran out after her, "I-I should probably... Uh, I better go."

Texas stared at the broken tag for a moment, looking at the word TEX.

Then she set it aside and turned to the others, "Where is she?"

Rhode quickly sat up and went up to her, "Look, Texas, I don't know if you're looking for a fight or whatever it is you want, but now is not the time. Carolina just went into surgery. We don't know when she'll be out so we're headed over to Recovery to wait for her."

"Yeah, Recovery One," Wash added.

While they were talking, Texas looked into her locker and spotted a small dog tag marked with the Project Freelancer symbol lying on the top shelf.

"Maybe you should come with us," York said as he set off towards the door, "Let's go."

Wash went out through the door, but Rhode held up, "You coming, Tex?"

"Yeah, go on, Rhode," Texas replied distractedly, "I'm right behind you."

As the guys set off down the passage, Texas stared at the dog tag for a moment then she pocketed it and went out after the guys...

 **XXX**

 **MOTHER OF INVENTION MEDICAL LAB**

Carolina watched as the two doctors approached her gurney. York and Wyoming had explained to her how the implantation process worked, but she had to admit that she was a little nervous. What if something went wrong? What if her mind couldn't handle these new additions? But then she shook those thoughts out. Everything would work out, and she would show Texas who the best Freelancer was...

Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt her body float off the gurney and then spin around until she was facing the floor, which she knew meant that the artificial gravity around her had been switched off.

While one doctor held her steady, the other picked up a syringe from the medical tray and injected it into her neck. Carolina flinched as she felt the shot then she began to feel dizzy as the dose took effect. Then as she blacked out, the second doctor picked up one of two small storage units and began the implantation of the two AIs...

 **XXX**

Several hours later, Carolina was wheeled into the Recovery ward and Wyoming stood over her, waiting for any signs of movement.

Just then, York, Rhode, Tenn, and Wash stepped into the ward, helmets at their side and sat down next to him.

"How's the patient?" Wash asked.

"She should be coming around any moment," Wyoming replied.

York then looked round and spotted Maine sitting on another bed, rubbing his head, "What's he in for?"

"Probably for all the headaches he's been having," Rhode assumed, "Did you ever get them after you got Delta?"

"At first," York nodded, "They went away pretty quick though. The other side effects were way worse."

"What other side effects?"

"You know, bleeding from the eyes, ringing ears... inverted penis-"

Wash jumped to his feet in alarm, ""Inverted WHAT?!"

York burst out laughing, "Dude, I'm just messing with you, 'k? Couple of headaches, that's it."

Wash let out a sigh of relief, "So what's different about Maine, then?"

"You know, I've been wondering about that myself, old bean," Tenn replied, "You don't think he's getting some adverse reaction to Sigma's presence, do you?"

Just then Carolina let out a groan and slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey, she's awake!" Rhode stood up and beamed down at her, "How are you feeling?"

In response, Carolina pushed him away then sat up in her bed, "I want a match. Right... now!"

 **XXX**

 **And next up the long awaited fight between Tex and Car- oh who am I kidding? You've seen the show. Till next time guys!**


	14. Chapter 13: Three's a Crowd

**Chapter 13: Three's a Crowd**

 **FREELANCER TRAINING FACILITY**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

"A new challenger has arrived," FILSS announced over the loudspeakers, "Today's match-up is Agent Texas versus Agent Carolina."

Down in the arena, two sets of doors slid open. On one side, Texas approached the rack of weapons that had deployed in front of her. On the other side, Carolina stepped up to her rack, followed closely by Rhode.

"Okay," Rhode said, "Just pick a piece of equipment you know how to use already."

Carolina said nothing as she picked up all the frag grenades and placed them on her belt then grabbed two pistols, an electric baton, an assault rifle and six whole packs of spare ammo.

"Or, just grab everything and anything," Rhode finished, "That works too, I guess."

 **XXX**

In the observatory, York and Washington found a place between North and South by the window. He glanced down the line to look at Wyoming and York, then up the other side to see Sigma hovering over Maine's shoulder, observing the preparations below.

 **XXX**

Texas loaded a pistol and placed it on her belt then grabbed two SMGs and a combat knife.

As she pondered over using some grenades, a black figure appeared on her shoulder, "Hey, I've got this one, Omega."

The AI unit gave an angry growl, "Next time..."

Then he disappeared.

 **XXX**

On the other side, Rhode watched as Carolina finished up her arming with two knives then FILSS called out, "Agent Rhode, please clear the floor."

"In a second, FILSS!" Rhode turned back to Carolina, "Now York told me at first the voice of the AI –sorry, AIs, it will feel like a tickle, okay? Just focus on that and it will get clear. Trust them. I know that'll be hard, but I promise they'll help."

"Agent Rhode, clear the floor, please," FILSS insisted.

"In a second, FILSS!"

"Clear the floor or enter the match, Rhode. Your choice."

Rhode sighed and turned back to Carolina as the weapons racks retracted into the floor, "For the record, I would stay to support you, but she's really darn scary."

Carolina glared back at him.

"Okay, maybe you're _both_ pretty scary. Gotta go," And with that, Rhode turned and left the arena.

Carolina then stepped into the arena as two glowing figures, one gold and one teal, appeared on her shoulder. She nodded to them both and the two AIs shared a quick glance before merging into one and disappearing.

 **XXX**

Up in the view deck, Rhode joined the other Freelancers as they heard FILSS counting down the time till the match started.

"Anyone wanna bet one of them gets killed?" North offered.

"Are you kidding?" Wash cried, "I'm hoping one of us doesn't get killed just by watching!"

 **XXX**

Down in the arena, Texas and Carolina grabbed their first weapons of choice, a knife and a baton respectively, and glared at each other.

"Round begins in three, two, one, begin," FILSS announced, "Good luck, ladies!"

"Thanks," they both replied at the same time, "I won't need it."

They stared at each other for another moment then they raised their weapons and with a great yell, they charged straight at each other.

 **XXX**

At that very moment, in the observation deck, the door slid open and the Director stormed into the room, followed as always by the Counselor.

"What the heck is going on here?!" the Director bellowed, making Sigma disappear, "No matches have been authorized for-"

He broke off as he glanced out the window and suddenly his expression of fury faded into one of absolute horror.

"No!" he gasped, running up to the window, "ALLISON!!!"

And with those words, everything descended into complete disarray.

 **XXX**

Down in the arena, Carolina had almost reached Texas and was just about to swing her baton, when suddenly she heard two voices crying out in her head.

 _"Allison... Allison..."_

With a cry of anguish, she fell to her knees, sliding along the ground, and clutched her head in agony as Eta and Iota appeared on her shoulder, doing the same emotions.

 **XXX**

At the same time, in the observation deck, Wash, South, Rhode, Tenn, and the Counselor watched in horror as the other Freelancers began to react badly to their AIs' cries.

 _"Allison... Allison... Allison... Allison..."_

York stumbled backwards and collapsed on the ground as Delta wailed and moaned, South ran to her brother's side as he fell to his knees, hearing Theta's panicked cries, Wyoming actually tore off his helmet and threw aside to stop himself hearing Gamma, and Maine just clutched his head and banged it against the table, hoping to silence Sigma's shrieks.

 **XXX**

Elsewhere in the Mother of Invention, two guards were keeping watch over the Sarcophagus when suddenly the whole container began to shake and rattle, while making loud high-pitched roars. Glancing at each other, the guards slowly began to back away from the box.

 **XXX**

Back in the arena, Texas ran over to Carolina's side as she took off her helmet and struggled vainly to get up.

Texas held out her hand, but Carolina slapped it away, still screaming in intense agony, "Make them stop! Make them stop!"

She fell onto her back, sobbing in pain, "The voices! Make the voices stop!"

 **XXX**

In the observation deck, the Freelancers had recovered and stared at the scene in the arena in dumbfounded terror, but the Director remained completely impassive, despite his earlier expletive. Rhode continued to stare in absolute horror as he heard Carolina's shrieks. But there was nothing he could do.

"Director, we should sedate Agent Carolina immediately," the Counselor demanded, "We have no idea how much damage two AIs could-"

"No," the Director interrupted gruffly, "She made her decision. Let her be."

Rhode turned to the Director in shock. What the crap was that about?!

"Come on," York yelled, "Somebody help her!"

At that moment, Texas looked up towards the deck, "What the crap is going on?! Somebody get down here!"

The Director turned to leave the deck, but stopped in the door to address the other Freelancers, "You are all dismissed."

 **XXX**

Down below, Texas turned back to Carolina, who was on her back now, clutching her head and whining pathetically. She knelt next to her to check her over then suddenly felt her hands moving towards Carolina's neck.

"Yes, end her!" she heard Omega goading, "Do it! You know you want to! Do it!"

But Texas shook her head as Carolina slowly opened her eyes, "Sorry, kid, this is for your own good."

The last thing Carolina saw was Texas swinging her fist down at her face, and then everything went black...

 **XXX**

 **And thus Carolina will now be hospitalized. Till next time guys!**


	15. Chapter 14: Happy Birthday

**Chapter 14: Happy Birthday**

 **MEDICAL OBSERVATORY**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

North gave a worried sigh as he and Tenn glanced through the window at Carolina. She hadn't moved from the medical bed ever since the accident with the AIs. North imagined that having two AIs in her head must have been too much for her. He, York, Maine, and Wyoming had to cope with having two minds at once, but three minds? That would drive anyone mental...

"How's she doin'?"

North and Tenn turned at the voice to see Texas stepping through the door into the observatory, her helmet at her side.

"No idea," Tenn replied, "Docs thought she would have woken up by now, but... she's still under."

Texas then spotted Rhode lying fast asleep by Carolina's side, holding her hand in his, "How long has he been here?"

"He hasn't left her side yet," Tenn said.

"It's been days."

"And he's dedicated."

Texas gave a glum smile, brushed a strand of hair off her face, and spoke to North, "You know, your sister petitioned to get one of Carolina's AIs."

North spun round and stared at her, "She didn't..."

"Sure did."

North sighed and bowed his head, "I'll talk to her. That's inappropriate."

"Yeah, 'inappropriate's the word. So is vulture. Piece of advice, one soldier to another: you watch her."

Tenn raised an eyebrow, "Something's different with you."

Texas said nothing as she stepped closer to the window and stared at Carolina for a while, "You have an AI, right?"

"Theta, yeah," North answered.

"Takes some getting used to?"

"I'll say."

"Well, let's say mine took a little longer than most," Texas frowned, "I'm sure I want to depend on him."

"You've been, uh, pulling him?"

Texas nodded slowly, "Haven't used him in days."

"Does the Director know?"

"No. And he's not going to. No one needs to know."

North nodded in agreement as he stood next to her, "They have to stop implanting now. I mean, after this..."

Texas shook her head, "Wash is up for surgery next."

"You're kidding me," North gasped.

Texas just shrugged, "Well, time marches on. So does Project Freelancer."

"Yeah. But lately, it seems like we're getting trampled in the process."

With a small nod, Texas turned to leave but she stopped at the door, "Hey, call me when she wakes up. Or, if she... doesn't."

"Will do," Tenn replied.

As Texas left the room, Theta appeared in a flash of fireworks and looked out the door, "I think I'm starting to like her... at least, better than I did before."

"Yeah," North agreed, "She grows on you."

"Still scary, though."

"Oh yeah," Tenn admitted with a slight shudder, "Plenty scary..."

 **XXX**

 **UNDISCLOSED LOCATION**

The Director watched on the screen as Alpha began to scream in agony, clutching his head and falling to his knees, "That's too far, Gamma."

At this, Sigma turned to the blue AI, "We need stronger stimulus. He'll break."

Gamma nodded and typed on the holographic screen in front of him as Omega did the same. Then on the screen, Alpha began to flash with an unstable white light.

"He's ready," the Counselor declared, "Bring in the stasis unit."

The Director turned to the AI's, "You three, log off."

"Director, I would like to see this part of the process," Sigma requested.

"You can't get near the artifact," the Director replied sternly, "It's too dangerous. Your job is done. Log off."

"As you wish..." Omega and Gamma disappeared from sight, but Sigma quickly jumped into a nearby security camera, so he could watch the scene below.

The Director then turned to the Counselor, "Get us another memory unit, a new one. Don't let it touch anything else."

As Sigma watched, two soldiers stepped into the room, wheeling in the cargo known only as the Sarcophagus. Then they lifted the lid up and carefully moved it aside. Just then, a strange looking being floated up from the crate.

"Move all other equipment away from it," the Counselor ordered the soldiers.

As they hurried off to obey, the creature floated up to the storage unit that held Alpha and gave a series of high-pitched chirps and growls, its head swaying side to side like a snake.

"That's right, it's broken," the Director replied, "We broke it, and we need you to fix it, just like you've done before. Here, take this."

He held up a purple storage capsule and the creature picked it up with one of its tentacles, "Use this to fix it. Make it better; take away all that we broke."

Sigma leaned against the lens as he watched the creature do its magic. It placed the capsule next to the storage unit then raised its bigger tentacles up to the unit and began to work on it, eventually pulling out a small sapphire-blue light.

"That's right," the Director purred, "Put them in here."

The creature growled in reply and pressed a button on the capsule, making it open up like a flower then it placed the light inside and closed it up again.

"It is done," the Counselor announced.

With a nod, the creature picked up the capsule and placed it in the Director's hands then it floated back into the Sarcophagus and the soldiers quickly replaced the lid.

The Director turned round and held up the capsule like it was a trophy he'd just won.

"Welcome to the world, Epsilon," he hissed, "Today... is your birthday."

 **XXX**

 **And that, dear reader, was the birth of Epsilon. Till next time guys!**


	16. Chapter 15: Remember Me How I Was

**Chapter 15: Remember Me How I Was**

 **FREELANCER CLASSROOM**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

After she'd checked on Carolina, Texas made her way into the classroom and checked that no one was following her. Satisfied that she was alone, she went up to one of the desks, pulled out the dog tags that she'd found in her locker and gently pushed down on it, making the port pop out.

She then plugged it into a socket on the desk and activated the screen. At once, a video appeared before her, showing C.T.'s helmetless face in the locker room.

"Agent Texas..." C.T. broke off with a sigh, "Allison. If you're reading this, then that means I escaped. Or, well at the very least, I'm probably not around anymore."

Texas felt a small pang of guilt sweep through her, before it was overwhelmed by her curiosity.

"I wanted to leave behind all the data I've been collecting about Project Freelancer," C.T. continued, "I never could shake the feeling that something was wrong with the project."

Her face then became serious, "The secrets, the lies, the manipulation... smoke, all of it, obscuring a big fire. I did some digging, and now I know what the Director has been hiding, what he did."

She then looked up, slightly panicked, "He broke the law, Allison, the one law they don't just slap you on the wrist for. I'm taking the originals with me as an insurance policy. I leave this copy for you not because you are the best soldier in the squad, but because I know that I can trust you the most."

She then gave a mysterious smile, "After reading these files, you will understand why. Good luck. Your friend, Connie."

The video ended and Texas swept it off the screen to look at the files installed on the unit. They each showed some of the data that C.T. had collected; 'AI Experimentation'; 'Mission Logs'; 'Personnel Files'; 'Financials'; and 'Video Surveillance'. Texas then opened the file that caught her eye the most, 'AI Experimentation'.

Texas glanced over the files inside the folder, looking for some answers. The file that came up was on the Alpha AI. She didn't know much about it, but the info told her that it was based on the Director and so had inherited some of the traits from his youth. The next file was marked 'Beta, but it was password protected so she skimmed over the other files.

As she looked over them, she noticed a trend between the other AIs; each of them was based on a particular emotion. Her own AI unit, Omega, was based on rage and anger, which certainly explained her violent mood swings. Delta was logic, which also made sense. Theta was trust, Gamma was deceit, and Sigma was ambition and creativity. She then saw some other labeled emotions, none of which was fitted to an AI unit.

She then flicked back to the Beta file and activated the password. After a few moments' thought, she suddenly remembered what C.T. had called her and typed in ALLISON.

At once, the file opened and some pictures appeared before her, showing a young blonde woman wearing the uniform of a UNSC marine. For a moment, she stared at the biggest photo labeled 'Allison', wondering where she'd seen that face before... then it hit her.

Slowly she removed her helmet and looked at the screen again. Her face was reflected back to her, right over the picture of the woman. That's when she saw that, other than her red hair, she was an almost exact replica of that woman.

Texas clenched her fists in anger as the truth came barreling into her. She wasn't a Freelancer at all, she wasn't even human. She was one of them. She was an AI. She... was the Beta.

 **XXX**

 **MOTHER OF INVENTION MEDICAL LABORATORY**

Wash laid down on the medical bay bed and mentally prepared himself. He flinched slightly as he felt the AI entering his mind. And then suddenly, an image flashes before his eyes, a young woman dressed in a UNSC marine uniform giggling at him.

 _"Stop it. Put that thing down."_

With a cry of pain, he stumbled out of the anti-grav pocket and crashed to the floor, clutching his head.

"Agent Washington's vitals are spiking!" Wash vaguely heard the doctor cry, but all he could see was that woman's face.

 _"Leonard, come on. Stop it."_

Wash got to his feet and stumbled around the lab, knocking over medical trays in panic.

"Secure him!" the Director commanded, "Get him under control!"

Wash felt his arms getting grabbed by the security, but he pushed them aside with a cry, still seeing that woman.

 _"You're going to make me late."_

He fell over his own feet, smashing his head against a screen and breaking it. He felt a slight pain in his forehead, blood running over his eyes, but still he screamed as the woman smiled at him.

 _"I have to go."_

At last, he fell to the ground again, clutching his head and whimpering.

 _"But don't say goodbye."_

At that moment, Wash felt his lips quivering then he said at the same time as the woman did, "I hate goodbyes..."

Then he felt a slight pain in his arm, but he didn't resist as the flashes faded and he let the guards pick him up and put him on the gurney.

"Get him to recovery!" the Director ordered.

"Yes, sir," Wash heard the doctors reply.

As his vision began to blur, he looked up and saw the Director standing over him, "Counselor, I'd like to speak with him as soon as he wakes up."

"Of course, sir," the Counselor answered, his face in a frown, "What was that he said about 'goodbyes,' Director?"

As Wash slipped into unconsciousness, the last thing he saw was the Director looking up the ceiling and the Counselor calling to him, "Director?"

 **XXX**

 **And that's why Wash was considered insane for quite a while. Memory is the key. But some doors aren't meant to be unlocked. Till next time guys!**


	17. Chapter 16: Change of Plans

**Chapter 16: Change of Plans**

Rhode walked down the hall back to his room. He didn't feel like doing much of anything today. Carolina had finally woken up, but refused to talk, not even to him. Rhode sighed, remembering Carolina's face when she woke up and gave him a look that yelled 'stay away'.

His sulking was then interrupted by Agent Texas suddenly grabbing his arm, "We need to talk."

She dragged him into a corner and looked around to make sure no one was watching, "Okay, good."

"What the crap was that about?" Rhode asked, puzzled.

"I'm leaving, Rhode," she suddenly stated.

Rhode was taken aback by the statement, "Wait, what?!"

"I'm getting out of here," Tex continued, "I've figured out things that have completely changed what I think about this place. They tried to take away my AI."

"And you're telling me this, why?"

Tex sighed, "I want you to come with me."

That took the cake, "WHAT?!?!"

"Keep it down!" Tex snapped.

"Why on earth would I do that?! This place is my home! And... Carolina..."

Tex sighed and put a hand on his shoulder, "Rhode, I know this is a lot to ask, but please. This project has done things you wouldn't believe. Broken major laws. C.T. was right. The Director has to be stopped."

"I'm having a hard time believing that."

"Everything I learned was on this file," Tex brought out the name tag, "They're official documents for the project."

Rhode raised an eyebrow, "So? Tex, I can't just-"

"Did you know the Director planned on killing you?"

Rhode flinched, "What?"

"When you failed your mission on Sidewinder, the Director noticed a change in your behavior. You were slightly more rebellious. Not only that, he saw you as a threat. These files stated that you simply being there had a high chance of distracting Carolina. So he planned on getting rid of you discretely.

"The Director planned to have you stay behind in that skyscraper and let the ship do the rest. You would've suffered the same fate as Arizona and Pennsylvania. Crushed and/or disintegrated. Thankfully for you, he never went through with the plan."

Rhode stared at her in shock. That was way too detailed for Tex to just make up on the spot like that. He had noticed the Director's hostility towards him on occasions. But what did Tex mean by 'distracting Carolina'? This was all so confusing. Rhode fell back against the wall and slid to the floor.

"Confused?" Tex asked, "I know. I don't blame you. I'm still sifting through all of the secrets they've been hiding. So are you with me?"

Tex offered Rhode her hand. Rhode couldn't help but flashback to when he first met Carolina. He was without a home. Same situation here, basically. Project Freelancer could no longer be trusted. It was no longer his home.

Rhode looked up at Tex and took her hand.

 **XXX**

 **MOTHER OF INVENTION LOCKER ROOM**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

 _Dear Director,_

 _Your request for more bases in which to conduct your experiments was reviewed with much reservation by our Chairperson. Project Freelancer has been entrusted with one of our military's most valuable assets. Oversight becomes a much more difficult process if your operations are not centralized. Nonetheless, we have granted your request. However, we reserve the right to revoke this approval as we see fit. I sincerely hope this does not happen and anticipate you will not give us an occasion to do so._

 **XXX**

The atmosphere was tense in the locker room as a lone Freelancer prepared himself for his greatest moment. As he opened his locker, he paused for a moment to look at his reflection in the mirror, turning his head to check out the new tattoo on the back of his neck. He didn't understand the symbol's meaning, but he'd been assured it would make more sense in time.

After a while, he drew out his armor and put it on, flexing his muscles as he slipped each piece on. Then he took out his weapon and spent a good ten minutes sharpening the blade on one end before loading it with some RPG rounds and placing it on his back. Finally he picked up his EVA helmet and slipped it over his head.

Fully prepared, he then looked at the mirror again and closed his eyes, clearing his mind of any distracting thoughts and allowing Sigma to take control. When that was done, he opened his eyes, revealing blank windows of sinister intent, and he noted the orange flames burning over his white armor. With a deep, frightening growl, Agent Maine knew he was ready, for the next stage...

 **XXX**

 **RECOVERY WARD**

Washington gave a loud groan as he slowly came to. His whole body was aching from head to toe, his mouth felt as dry as a desert and his head felt like termites had bored right through it. He struggled to recall what had happened, and then it came back to him. He'd been getting his new AI partner and then... there was that laughing woman, talking about not saying goodbye and then...

"Hey, he's awake," a voice called out.

Wash's eyes flicked open and he moaned again as the light overhead nearly blinded him.

Then North came into his view, smiling down at him, "There you go."

Wash glanced to his left and saw South getting up from the chair next to his bed. Slowly he sat up and his head began to pound again. He reached up a hand and rubbed it, feeling the rows of stitches running across his forehead.

"Slowly," North advised, grabbed his shoulder, "Slowly..."

He then poured a glass of water and handed it to Wash, who took it and gave a careful sip.

"How long was I out?" he croaked.

"Only a few days this time," North replied.

"This time?"

"Yeah, after they removed it."

"Removed it?" Wash quickly ran a hand over the back of his neck, feeling for Epsilon's unit, but he only felt bare skin.

"It's gone," North said grimly, confirming Wash's fears, "They're going to remove all of them; started with you."

"Yeah, thanks, moron," South snapped, "The whole process is on hold now."

Wash then glanced at the bed next to his, "What about Carolina?"

 **XXX**

At that very moment, Carolina was in the bridge, having a heated debate with the Director and the Counselor.

"I'm not giving them up just because he's made a recalculation," she snapped, slamming her fist into the desk, "You owe me this."

"Carolina, you're acting like a child," the Director scolded sternly, "This is not about you. This is about the project."

"You would be wise to listen to the Director," the Counselor advised, "Agent Texas has already attempted to steal Wyoming's AI unit. If she were to come after you-"

"Then she would get more than she bargained for," Carolina growled, clenching her fists.

 **XXX**

Back at the ward, North bowed his head with a sigh, "Carolina's had it kinda rough. The Director's considering sending her to hunt down Texas."

Wash whirled round and stared at him in shock, "Hunt her down?"

"She went rogue," South explained, "She broke out of the facility in order to save her precious AI. Little later, we found Wyoming. Apparently, she tried to steal his AI unit, tried to get his equipment too."

"That hasn't been proven," North argued, "Besides, that doesn't sound like her."

"How would you know?"

"Just trust me, I know. And besides, if she had done it, there wouldn't be anything left of Wyoming to find."

"She's not a monster, North."

Wash groaned again and clutched his head in his hands, "You guys are giving me a headache."

"Relax," North reassured him, "Once they find Texas, they'll bring her back."

Suddenly, the lights began to flash red and alarms blared around the room, making Wash flinch.

Then FILSS made an announcement, "Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Breach in security, level zero!"

"Or, she'll come back on her own," North finished with a sigh.

 **XXX**

Deep in the ship's storage level, Texas and Rhode glanced up at the blaring sirens and Tex gave an annoyed sigh, "Great job, York."

"I thought you were good at this," Rhode muttered.

"I swear this never happens to me," York cried, getting up from his work on the electronic lock.

"I'm sure you say that to all the ladies," Tex said.

"Seriously, I'm way better at this than it seems."

Texas just rolled her eyes. After the incident with Wash, the Director had called an end to the AI project and ordered that all Freelancers currently with AI units were to report to the storage facility of Command and get them removed. Some of the Freelancers went quietly, but Texas was tougher than that. She didn't know how it happened but she remembered stepping into the surgery, and the next thing she knew, she was out in the plains and the facility was on fire.

Now she had come back to the Mother of Invention, and, after pulling a few strings, she convinced Rhode and York to help her break into the most secure vault in the ship. But so far things hadn't been going as smoothly as she'd hoped.

"We don't have much time," So saying, she walked up to the lock and punched it, smashing it apart and making the door open, "I need you two to find a way to distract for me. Be careful."

"Gotcha." Rhode said as he and York set off down the passage but paused by the exit, "What about you?"

Texas just turned towards the open vault with a grim expression, "There is someone I need to see."

 **XXX**

 **And who does Tex see? Till next time guys!**


	18. Chapter 17: Party Crashers

**Chapter 17: Party Crashers**

 **MOTHER OF INVENTION BRIDGE**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

As the alarms blared across the ship, Carolina looked round in horror as FILSS gave her announcement, "Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Breach in Security, level zero!"

"It's the resistance!" Carolina cried.

"No," the Director growled, "It's Agent Texas, and her darn partners in crime."

"We should get back to the lab," the Counselor said urgently, "Director, we must follow protocol."

The Director nodded then turned to the Freelancer, "Carolina, look at me. You know what needs to be done."

Carolina's face set into a determined smirk and she nodded, "I do."

"Then do it."

Carolina turned and ran out of the bridge, pleased that her chance had finally come. Now at last, she would prove to Texas who was truly the better Freelancer.

 **XXX**

Down in the security room, the soldiers crept around the hangar keeping their eyes open for trouble, unaware that the trouble was right above their heads, preparing to strike.

Then suddenly, like a leopard pouncing from a tree onto its prey, Texas leapt off the walkway overhead and jammed a spike grenade right into one soldier's visor then she charged into the others, just before the grenade went off, taking out the soldier and any others gathered around him.

Quickly, the other soldiers raised their guns and opened fire, but Texas was too quick for them and she ran around them, sticking spike grenades on some of them and kicking them into the others, taking out several at once. Then she grabbed one soldier's shotgun, took him out with a grenade and then opened fire on the closer soldiers then she hurled the gun at another soldier's face before throwing a spike grenade at him.

At last, the last soldiers were taken out and Texas was about to leave when she heard a door creaking open behind her. She turned round to see South stepping into the hangar, wielding a missile pod in her hands.

"Think you're so tough, don't you, Texas?" South growled, "Well, let me ask you something: who's the monster now?"

"Aw, crap..." Texas quickly dived out of the way as South opened fire.

 **XXX**

Down in the lower levels, Wyoming made his way down into the locker rooms, followed by two other soldiers, one wielding a battle rifle and the other carrying an assault rifle.

"Dude, we get to fight with Wyoming!" the battle rifle holder giggled excitedly, "Awesome!"

"Just clear the room, lads," Wyoming ordered sternly.

The two soldiers charged up to the entrance and raised their guns, but nobody came out to challenge them.

"All clear!" the battle rifle soldier cried.

"All clear, sir!" the assault rifle wielder echoed.

"Dear Lord, it's like idiot in stereo," Wyoming sighed.

"Nice zinger, sir!" A.R. giggled.

"Suck up," B.R. muttered crossly.

"Shut up."

Wyoming entered the room and glanced around then turned to the soldiers.

"You, look over there," he ordered A.R., "And you, come with me."

As he and B.R. wandered through the lockers, Wyoming rubbed the back of his neck with some regret. He felt so different without Gamma's voice in his mind. All he remembered of that day was coming into the locker room to get his sniper rifle... and then he was waking up on the floor, with his helmet removed and his AI chip gone. The Director had assumed that Texas had attacked him and stolen his AI, but Wyoming somehow knew that she wouldn't do something like that. Also, he was certain he'd heard some deep growling noises while he was unconscious, as well as felt his body doing some motions of its own. Was it possible that Gamma had pulled himself to escape? And if so, escape from what?

Wyoming shook his head to clear that thought and glanced around the room.

"Now where are you hiding?" He stepped up to a locker and rapped its side, "Knock knock."

"Wait, who's there?" B.R. hissed, pointing his weapon out.

Suddenly a vent swung open on the ceiling and Rhode dropped down into the room, kicking B.R.'s legs out from under him then he raised a shotgun and fired into him, sending him flying.

"Whoa, it's Rhode!" A.R. cried, seconds before he was knocked down by his teammate.

Rhode then jumped to his feet and turned to Wyoming, "Knock knock."

"Ah yes, that's what I'm saying," Wyoming replied, hurling a bench towards him, "Who's there?"

Rhode ducked the bench then charged into Wyoming, driving him into the lockers, "It's Rhode!"

He swung a locker door open and smashed it into Wyoming's face then he observed the photo of a young girl stuck inside, "Hello."

Wyoming shook off the attack then swung out at him, "Who's there?"

"I told you," Rhode cried, kicking him aside, "It's Rhode!"

Wyoming spun round and raised his fists, "It's Rhode... who?"

He trailed off as Rhode pulled out the locker then hurled it right into his face, knocking him out and sending pictures flying.

"It's the road. Get out of it!" Rhode laughed, "Man, I'm terrible."

He then snatched up the picture of the girl again for another look then gave a low whistle as he dropped it and left the room, "Talk about knock knocks."

 **XXX**

Back in the hangar, Texas had to jump and dive around the missiles as South continued firing at her. Then South fired a whole volley of missiles right at her. Texas threw her arms over her head as the missile flew straight towards her...

But then, the missiles were hit with sniper rounds and blew up just inches from her.

Texas looked round in amazement to see North striding confidently into the hangar with a smoking sniper rifle over each shoulder, "Well, hello, ladies. What seems to be the problem?"

"North, you know what the problem is," South snapped, "She stabbed us in the back, and now it's time to return the favor. Whose side are you on?"

In response, North raised his snipers and took aim at South, "Tex, take a walk. I need to have a little chat with my sister."

Texas stared at him beseechingly, "North, you sure?"

"Go," he insisted, "This is a family matter."

Texas nodded then ran out of the hangar. She glanced over her shoulder to see Theta summoning the shield around North just as South opened fire. She hoped those twins would sort out their differences soon, but she still had her doubts about South. Then she turned and raced down the passages.

Soon she came into another hangar but she skidded to a halt as a Scorpion-Class tank came trundling into the bay. She quickly ducked out of the way just as it fired its cannon at her then she quickly got on her radio.

 **XXX**

Down below, York had just made it into the control room when his radio crackled.

"Hey, guys," Texas called out, "I could use that distraction right about now!"

"Read you loud and clear, Tex," York replied, "One distraction coming right up."

"York, make it a big one!"

"Hey relax, it's me," York stepped up to a control panel, typed some quick commands and then pressed a button.

 **XXX**

Out in space, several missiles were fired out of the sides of the Mother of Invention and then they immediately turned round and crashed back into the ship.

 **XXX**

Down in the passages, Carolina felt the whole ship shake as the missiles hit home.

"Darn it, York!" she growled, running the opposite direction

 **XXX**

In the labs, the Director stumbled back with the tremors, grabbing onto the console for balance, "What the heck is goin' on?! Who is shooting at us?"

The Counselor quickly checked the info on a nearby screen and then stepped back, his eyes wide with shock, "We are!"

 **XXX**

Meanwhile, Tex looked up as the room shook and the lights dimmed, and sighed in annoyance, "You call that big? Men..."

She then charged into the doorway, rolling into a ball to avoid a blast from the tank then charged across the hangar.

"She's over there!" the tank driver called out.

On the mounted turret, a soldier swung the gun around, "I got her!"

The gunner opened fire, sending Tex flying into a crate. The driver then fired the tank's cannon and sent them airborne. Then Tex, who'd been hanging onto a crate, pounced off it towards the tank.

Gunner quickly raised the turret to fire, but Tex landed forcefully in front of him and kicked the turret clean off the tank, "Jesus, lady!"

She then pulled off a grenade and raised it towards him, but then Driver swung the tank's barrel round and smashed it to her chest, knocking her off and making her drop the grenade – right next to Gunner.

"What the-?" Gunner quickly grabbed the grenade and fumbled with it for a terrifying moment, "Oh God, oh God... whoa!"

At last, he got a firm grip on it then turned to Tex, who was just hanging on the barrel, "Hey, catch!"

With that, he hurled the grenade out to her but Tex quickly swung up onto the barrel and punched the grenade back towards Gunner, seconds before it exploded and sent him flying. Driver then reversed the tank, making Tex lose her balance then he fired its cannon, sending her flying off the tank. Driver then turned the tank round and drove right towards her as she got to her feet.

 **XXX**

Meanwhile, York had left the control room and had now entered a room marked 'GENERATOR'. He ran inside and found himself staring at a huge cylindrical engine, its insides sparking with energy.

"Hello, what have we here?" he muttered, stepping up to the machine's access panel, "This looks important."

 **XXX**

By then, the tank had picked up speed and smashed right into Tex, pinning her down against a pillar. The treads squealed in protest as Driver pushed it harder then he swung the barrel round until it was pointed right at her head.

 **XXX**

At that moment, York pulled the panel open and stared at the many cables inside. "Hey Delta, I think we could get into a lotta trouble in here."

"I think we are already in a lot of trouble, York," Rhode replied for Delta, walking in.

"I concur," Delta confirmed.

"Hmm, let's test that theory," With that, York and Rhode grabbed a handful of cables and tugged them right out with a burst of sparks.

As they did, alarms began to blare and the generator suddenly cut out, "Oh boy..."

 **XXX**

In the corridors, Carolina ran as fast she could past the soldiers then suddenly she felt herself lifting off the floor. She looked round and saw the soldiers floating around her, crying out in panic. She then saw a monitor flash up a warning: 'GRAVITY DISABLED'. Cursing to herself, she pushed off a wall and floated off down the passage.

Back in the hangar, Tex turned her head round, ready for the cannon to blow her head off, and then she noticed a crate floating off the ground nearby. Throwing caution into the wind, she reached down and flipped the tank off her chest, just as it fired, sending it tumbling back. Tex then braced herself on the pillar and kicked off it, jetting out of the hangar.

 **XXX**

Meanwhile, Carolina flew through the passageways, ignoring the panicking soldiers around her. As she rounded a corner, she kicked off a wall then plunged down an elevator shaft and landed on the darkened left, activating her magnetic clamps.

As she pressed the down button, a voice called out from the shadows, "Carolina..."

She whirled round and raised her plasma rifles, as Rhode stepped out of the darkness, holding his sniper rifle close, "Let's not do this. It doesn't have to be this way."

"What are you doing here?" Carolina demanded, "Why are you helping her?"

"It's not about her," Rhode insisted, "I'm trying to do the right thing. You should too!"

"I am doing the right thing! I'm not deserting. She just wants the AI's, Rhode. She already went after Wyoming's."

Rhode's jaw dropped in shock, "Is that what they told you?"

"I'm going to stop her!" Carolina yelled, as the lift began to descend, "I have to."

"You don't have to prove anything!" Rhode put away his rifle and then grabbed Carolina's arm, staring at her with pleading eyes, "Come on, let's leave this place! I can get you help. I can get those things outta your head! I still care about you Carolina! You can trust me."

"Maybe..." Carolina then raised her other arm, pointing the rifle right at Rhode's head, "But you can't trust me."

Rhode gave a sad sigh, then he knocked the rifle out of her hand then grabbed her and wrestled the other rifle out her hands. But Carolina pulled out of his grasp then lashed out and kicked him back, sending her flying back into the shaft but she quickly ran down the sides and pounced on Rhode. Rhode did his best to block each of Carolina's kicks but eventually he took a kick in the gut and stumbled up before she kicked him down again.

As he floated back up, Rhode stared at her, "Carolina-"

But she then kicked him right in the face, sending him spiraling up the elevator shaft. Then as she caught her breath, she spotted a small slip of paper floating in the air. She grabbed it and took a look at it. It was a picture of a teenage Ryan Bellator with his parents, all smiling happily. She stared at it, but then slipped it into her pocket. By then, the lift had reached its next floor and Carolina took off down the passage.

 **XXX**

Meanwhile, Rhode kept floating up and up until he hit the top of the shaft.

As his vision came back, he sighed and looked back down the shaft, "I'm so sorry..."

 **XXX**

Down below him, Tex pelted through the passageways towards the bridge, jumping off the sides of the walls. As she neared the end, she kicked off and landed on the corner just as Carolina landed on the other side.

"Don't even think about it," Carolina warned.

"Don't try to stop me!" Tex retorted, charging forward.

Carolina quickly jumped off the wall then used her momentum to lunge forward and kick out at Tex. But Tex pushed her aside and knocked her to the floor but Carolina quickly recovered as Tex landed on the ceiling. Carolina immediately lashed out with punches and kicks, but despite being upside down, Tex blocked every blow. She then flipped right side up and lunged at Carolina, but Carolina ducked aside and kicked her into the wall. Tex then pushed off the wall and tackled Carolina into the doors, sending them tumbling into the bridge. Carolina grabbed hold of the railing while Tex landed on one of the doors as it pinged off the glass, cracking it slightly.

Tex then turned to the bluish Freelancer, "Give it up, Carolina."

"Never," Carolina retorted, "I can beat you."

"No... you... can't!" Tex then flipped backwards to the top of the door and kicked it down but Carolina jumped aside at the last second.

Out through the windows, an icy planet drew closer and closer as the Mother of Invention plummeted out of control. But Tex and Carolina were too caught up in their battle to even notice, neither did they see the glass cracking beneath their feet nor feel the whole thing heating up as it entered the atmosphere. Carolina lashed out in a kick, but Tex dodged the blow then grabbed Carolina by the waist from behind and threw her against the glass, making it crack even more.

As Carolina floated away, and the whole ship began to shake as it neared the planet, Tex stood on the glass and looked to the other Freelancer, "You can't win, Carolina. But you can come with me."

Then she heard a loud creaking beneath her feet and looked down to see the glass beginning to crack. Quickly Tex jumped out of the way while Carolina curled herself into a ball for protection.

High above the snowy world of Sidewinder, the Mother of Invention plunged out of the cloud layer, its sides engulfed in flames. It glanced off the side of a mountain and was knocked off-course, before crashing right into a snowy field.

On the bridge, Tex was thrown against the railing by the impact, but Carolina was flung right through the window, sending glass flying everywhere, and she landed right by the edge of a snowy cliff. She just had time to see the wrecked Mother of Invention come to a stop in the snow before she blacked out...

 **XXX**

When she technically came back to consciousness, she felt herself being shaken. She looked up and saw Rhode with his hand on her shoulder. She then looked down at the computer screen.

PROGRAM ALPHA: SESSION COMPLETE

Tex stared at the words for a moment, feeling tears run down her cheeks. All of this effort, all of those battles... all for nothing. Then she looked up and spotted Carolina lying motionless in the snows outside... then she saw another figure, almost hidden by the growing blizzard, stepping up towards her. With a gasp of horror, she turned and jumped out of the window. Rhode followed her direction and spotted the figure.

"Oh no..."

 **XXX**

Outside, Carolina slowly came to and sat up. Looking up, she spotted a white figure coming towards her, carrying a brute shot in his hands. He holstered his weapon then he stepped up to her, grabbed her by the throat and hauled her off her feet.

"What are you doing?" Carolina gasped.

Maine then pulled off her helmet, dropped into the snow then reached out his other hand and grabbed the AI storage units in the back of her neck.

"No!" she cried in pain then she gasped as she felt the units get ripped right out of her skin, "NOOOO!!!"

Maine lowered his hand to stare at the units he'd taken and gave a satisfied growl. Then he turned around and flung Carolina right off the cliff.

"NOOOOO!!!" Rhode screamed as he jumped out the window.

Tex ran over to the edge of the cliff and just spotted Carolina reaching for her grappling gun before she disappeared through the clouds.

A low growl then made Tex turn round and she watched in horror as Maine kicked Carolina's helmet off the cliff then he removed his own helmet, lifted his hand up and inserted the AI units into his neck, next to Sigma's, before putting his helmet back on.

She then heard shouts behind him and she turned to see the Director, the Counselor, and Rhode standing horrorstruck in the snow as Maine turned to face them, flexing his muscles as he felt Eta and Iota entering his mind. Tex glanced between him and the gathering soldiers by the wrecked ship then she turned and fled the scene.

As Maine watched her disappear into the growing blizzard, Sigma appeared on his shoulder, followed by Eta and Iota.

"You run, Agent Texas," Sigma called with a sinister smile, "We are the Meta. And we will find you... very soon!"

Rhode stared at the scene that had unfolded. His shock then quickly turned into rage. With a yell, he charged at Maine. He wasn't thinking straight, but he knew he had to avenge Carolina.

The fight went about as well as you'd expect. Maine ended the fight with a punch in the visor and Rhode fell the ground, groaning in pain. He felt Maine grab his arm, and then tossed Rhode off the edge.

 **XXX**

 **Sucks to be Rhode, huh? But what happened after that? Till next time guys!**


	19. Chapter 18: Survival

**Chapter 18: Survival**

 **FREELANCER COMMAND**

 **MANY YEARS AGO**

The Director paced slowly around his office, thinking over all that had happened in the past few days. Between Agent Texas' sabotage of the Mother of Invention and Agent Maine's sudden turn towards Sigma's rampancy, things were looking very grim. He knew it was only a matter of time before the Oversight Sub-committee would get wind of this and investigate.

"This seems like a major setback for us," the Counselor said.

"Only momentarily, Counselor," the Director argued, "We will recover. The Alpha will need to be moved, though. Somewhere far from here, somewhere where no one knows who he is."

"He will need a security detail, someone we can trust," the Counselor spoke, "Might I suggest Flowers, Sir?"

The Director grinned, "Flowers? You mean, Agent Florida?"

Just then, the door swung open and a Spartan in blue ODST armor strode into the office.

He removed his helmet and beamed at the Director, running a hand over his grey-tinted brown hair before giving a smart salute, "Ready for duty, Sir; and might I say, pleased as punch you picked me."

The Director raised an eyebrow at this, "Hmm, we will need a good cover story to explain his disappearance. People will wonder what happened to Florida."

"Leave that all to me, Sir," The Counselor brought up a map of the United States on the screen then pressed some buttons.

As the Director watched, targets locked on to the state of Florida which soon broke off from the continent and broke apart into nothing.

"Very well, but security is not enough," the Director said, "The Alpha needs anonymity, a place where no one will think to look."

The Counselor then gave a mysterious smile, "I believe I know exactly the place."

The Director turned to look at him, his face intrigued, "Show me..."

 **XXX**

 **CLIFF**

Falling off a cliff was not fun. Especially if you were thrown off it. Rhode barely had enough energy to flail wildly as he plummeted down and waited for death.

But suddenly, something grabbed his right arm. He stopped falling and looked up to see who or what had saved him.

Carolina.

She grunted with effort as she tried to pull him up. So Rhode grabbed the ledge she was on with his left hand and used the last of his remaining energy to pull himself up.

He landed on the ledge with a thud and managed to look up. Apparently, he was in a little cave on the side of the cliff. He looked over to Carolina, who huffed and sat down, leaning against the cave wall.

Rhode pushed himself up, take off his helmet, and lean back against the cave wall and managed to say, "Thanks..."

She didn't reply. She just sat there and glared at him. Oh yeah. She must've still been mad at him for the whole 'breaking in the Mother of Invention' stuff. He was beyond relieved that she was still alive, but right now probably wasn't the best time to bring up the fact that he had broke a lot of trust.

"Soooo..." He said trying to break the ice, "How'd you survive?"

She still didn't say anything, but she pulled out her grappling hook and showed it to him. Rhode nodded.

"Ah, that explains it," he said, "... So what now?"

Carolina shrugged. Rhode sighed.

"Carolina, we're not gonna get anywhere if you won't talk to me. Now, come on, please say something."

"You know what?" Carolina snapped, "Fine! I had nothing good to say about you, but now you get to hear this. I think you are a backstabbing jerk!! What happened to everything we talked about that night?! And a few days later, you run off with Tex! Was anything you said then genuine?!"

Rhode stared at her. Then his shocked look turned into an angry one.

"You're lecturing me about the that?!" He snapped, causing Carolina to flinch, "You have no room to talk! I'm beginning to think you never listened! Just a day or so later, you go and implant yourself with two AI's!!

"Then when you were knocked out for a few days, did you know I never left your side?! Then when you finally wake up, you brushed me off and refused to talk to me! And I haven't even gotten to the part about how Tex convinced me to join her. She told me the Director planned on killing me!"

Carolina stared at him in shock. She was at a loss for words.

"If he had carried out that plan, I would've ended up like Zona and Penny! I joined Tex because it was the right thing to do. The Director has broken major laws and the Resistance had the right idea, or at least C.T. did. I never wanted to hurt you Carolina... I just... Felt so betrayed that my new home was just as guilty as the Resistance..."

Carolina couldn't speak. She just stared as Rhode broke down. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to reassure him. To tell him everything's gonna be alright.

She finally found the strength to speak, "He... Planned on killing you?..."

Rhode looked up at her, his eyes getting watery, "Yeah..."

Carolina thought about it, "Why would he want to do that?"

Rhode sighed, glad they were off that topic, "Tex said that it was because the Director noticed some rebellious behavior. I would hesitate at orders. But another reason was..."

Rhode stopped and looked down, a small blush appearing on his face. Carolina tilted her head in confusion.

"Well?" She asked.

Rhode was quiet for a few seconds, "...The file said that I was a distraction... for you."

Carolina's eyes widened as a blush spread across her face. She was glad Rhode was looking down.

"O-oh..."

"Yeah..."

"Change topic?"

"Change topic."

Carolina thought for a second before remembering something. She reached into her pocket and pulled out Rhode's picture.

"Hey, you dropped this."

Rhode stared at the picture before taking it. He stared at it for a few seconds before putting on a sad smile.

"Thanks..."

She smiled, "What are friends for?"

Rhode raised an eyebrow, "Changed your mind about me already?"

Carolina looked away, "W-well, um, I, uh..."

Rhode laughed, "Hey, I'm just kidding. I'm perfectly okay with that."

Carolina smiled, "Yeah... I think I am too. Sorry for losing my temper earlier."

"Hey, if anyone should apologize for losing their temper, it should be me. I shouldn't have snapped like that. I sometimes forget how big of an ego you have."

"Hey!"

Rhode laughed, "Don't worry, I'm just messing with you. But seriously though, sorry."

"It's fine. So what do we do now?"

"Wait, what about the life chips in our armor? They'll know we're still alive."

"Already took care of mine. I took it out and crushed it."

Rhode quickly located his and did the same, "So now what?"

"I guess we should get some sleep. I'm getting a bit tired. We can decide what we do next in the morning."

"Fine by me."

They both scraped up their own small snow pile and laid their heads on it. It was actually a bit more comfortable than you might think.

 **(Author's Note: I don't know if that's true. I live in a city where it's 70 degrees in December. I haven't gotten many chances.)**

"Hey Rhode?" Carolina asked sleepily.

"Yeah?"

"Don't leave me again."

Rhode stared at her for a few seconds before smiling, "I promise."

 **XXX**

 **And that ends day one of Rhode Island's Guide to Survival in the Arctic! Till next time guys!**


	20. Chapter 19: Pondering and Wandering

**Chapter 19: Pondering and Wandering**

When Rhode and Carolina woke up, they then contemplated what to do next.

"According to Project Freelancer," Rhode began, "We're both dead. So we can't exactly climb our way to the top and get spotted."

"Yeah," Carolina replied, "I don't plan on going back anyway."

"So what should we do? We don't have nearly enough supplies to survive out here. Heck, we'll die freezing to death faster than we will starving to death."

"Good question. But I think I have an idea."

"Oh yeah? What?"

"We're not far from an abandoned outpost. It used to be run by blue simulation troopers, but they were all killed by Tenn a while back."

"Blue Simulation Troopers, huh? Well, hopefully the Reds didn't occupy it after they died."

"Whatever. It's not like they could beat us anyway."

Rhode laughed, "That's true. There's still one problem though. How are we gonna get there? As far as I can tell, we're kinda trapped in this cave."

"I still have my grappling hook. I could stick the end to the side of the cliff and lower myself down. After that, you can slide down the line."

"How do we know there's enough line?"

Carolina picked up a nearby rock and dropped it. They both listened closely and about four seconds later, they heard the rock hit solid ground.

"We're good," Carolina confirmed.

Carolina attached the hook to the cliff wall and rappelled her way down. After a minute or so of waiting, Rhode soon followed. After they got to the bottom, they wandered in the direction of the Blue Sidewinder Base.

 **XXX**

After an hour or so of walking, they finally made it. Rhode nearly collapsed when they got to the door.

"F-f-finally..." Carolina shivered.

"I t-think my t-toes are gonna f-fall off-f-f..." Rhode stuttered.

"Now to hope this place has supplies to last us."

They both pushed on the door, walked in, and quickly shut it. They then leaned against the wall, feeling relief.

"Oh my gosh," Rhode sighed, "Warmth!"

"I know right," Carolina replied with smile on her face, "It feels like heaven."

Rhode's blissful look then changed to a thoughtful one, "Wait... Isn't this place supposed to be abandoned?"

"Yeah, why?"

"...Then why is it so warm in here?"

Carolina thought about it for a moment and then her eyes widened, "That's a good question..."

As if on cue, a guy's voice was suddenly heard, "Hey Zach, did you hear something?"

"Not now Riley," another male voice replied, "I'm busy using my hacking simulator."

"That's not a hacking simulator! It's a video game!"

"No it isn't!"

"I'm pretty sure Fallout 4 is a video game."

"Hacking simulator!"

"Quiet you two!" Another voice, this time a female, called out, silencing them, "I heard something."

"But I said that!" Riley replied.

"Yes, but you're an idiot," the female pointed out.

"No I'm not!"

There was a moment of silence before Riley spoke again, "Yeah... You're right."

"Now come on, it sounded like it came from the front entrance."

"Yes, Alex," both Zach and Riley said.

Carolina and Rhode looked at each other in panic. Carolina pulled out a pistol while Rhode brought out his sniper rifle.

"So now what?" Rhode whispered, "Do we try to talk our way out of this?"

"Might as well," she replied.

Just then, three red figures rounded the corner with guns raised. One was wearing plain red armor, one in red armor with white highlights, and the lead one in red armor with gold highlights.

The five soldiers stood there in a standoff for a few seconds before the lead Red spoke in a female voice, "Who are you?"

"That depends," Rhode spoke up, "Who are you with?"

The girl was silent for a moment, "We were with the Spartan II program, but we went AWOL."

"So no relation with Project Freelancer?" Carolina asked.

"No."

Rhode sighed, "Okay... Let's all put our weapons down..."

All of them put their weapons on the ground, except for the one with the white highlights, who held his sniper rifle close.

"Hey," Carolina said, "Aren't you going to drop yours?"

"Don't worry," the plain red one said, "Riley couldn't hit you even if you were an inch away from the barrel."

"Oh shut up Zach!" Riley snapped, "At least I'm not a terrible hacker."

"Oh we're going there are we?"

"Both of you shut up!" The girl scolded.

The two shut up and mumbled, "Yes, Alex..."

Alex turned back to the ex-Freelancers, "Sorry about that. Name's Alex. And these are my teammates, Zach and Riley. Who are you?"

Carolina swapped a look with Rhode, "You sure we should tell them?"

"Hey, they seem relatively harmless," Rhode shrugged, "Except for Alex. She seems a bit scary."

He turned to Alex, "No offense."

"None taken," Alex replied, "I keep these two in line that way."

"Well, I'm Rhode," he said, "And this is Carolina."

"Wait," Zach put in, "You mean like the Carolina and Rhode? Like... The Freelancers?!"

Carolina nodded, "The same."

Alex took a step back in shock, "But, why would you be here?"

"According to the Project, we're dead," Rhode answered, "We're on the run and needed a place to stay. We remembered that this planet had an abandoned simulation facility and decided to go there."

"Which brings us to you," Carolina said with a raised eyebrow, "Why are you here?"

Alex sighed, "We're on the run too. Back in our unit, we were known as 'The Misfits'. We never finished an assignment on time, usually due to these two."

"Hey!" Riley said, but Alex then stared at him, "...Yeah... You're right."

"Anyway, we took on a major assignment without permission. When we failed, we went on the run. And now we're here."

"Yikes," Rhode muttered, "Well... I hope you don't mind, but can we stay here? At least, until we can find a way off this rock?"

"I guess so," Alex shrugged, "We got plenty of room here. Plus, I could use someone smart to talk to."

"Hey!" Zach said, "I take offense to that!"

"Thanks," Carolina smiled, "Really, you have no idea how grateful we are."

"Eh, it's no problem. Now come on, let's find your rooms."

 **XXX**

 **It seems that Rhode and Carolina have found new allies. Oh, and yes, The Misfits are actually a thing. Just not in the RvB universe. Just look up 'Halo The Misfits' on YouTube and you'll find the series. Trust me, it's very good. Till next time guys!**


	21. Chapter 20: Christmas Special

**Chapter 20: Christmas Special**

 **(Author's Note: I know we're nearing summer at this point, but this chapter is actually pretty important, and I just so happened to write it on Christmas.)**

"Guysguysguysguys! Wake up!!"

Rhode groaned as he woke up, "I swear, Riley, if you pranked me or Carolina again, I'm gonna kill you."

It had been two months since Rhode and Carolina went on the run. After taking refuge with The Misfits, they had grown used to living with them. Although Riley was still trying to wrap his small brain around the idea that Freelancers are deadly and will try to kill you if pranked. Riley learned his lesson after Carolina came after him with a kitchen knife. You do not want details.

"No, it's not that!" Riley said, "Guess what day it is?!"

"It better be important," Rhode rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock, "Especially since you're waking us up at 6:30 in the morning."

"It's December 25th!!" Riley yelled, "CHRISTMAS!!!"

Rhode's eyes widened, "A Christmas chapter? Really? Won't that seem horribly cliche and send our views plummeting to the ground?"

"Yep!"

"Let's do it!"

 **XXX**

Carolina stumbled out of her room fully dressed and rubbed her eyes as Rhode stepped out of his room.

"Did Riley draw on my face again?" She asked, "Because if he did, I'll finish killing him."

"Nope," Rhode answered, "He's just excited because it's Christmas."

Carolina tilted her head, "Christmas?"

Rhode raised an eyebrow, "You... Do know what Christmas is... Right?"

Carolina thought for moment, "Well... I do remember celebrating something around this time of year as a little kid. But then... My mom died and things were never the same..."

Rhode's eyes widened. She never talked about her family before. Much less the fact that her mom was dead.

"Oh... I'm sorry," he apologized, "I didn't mean-"

"It's okay..." Carolina interrupted, "I'm over it."

They were silent for a moment before Rhode said, "So, you haven't celebrated Christmas since you were a kid?"

"Nope. I guess I kinda just forgot about it. What do you do on Christmas again?"

Rhode laughed. It was adorable that Carolina of all people was asking him about how Christmas works.

"Well, the main event is exchanging gifts. I don't think there's anything more exciting than opening a present on Christmas."

"So... What do you get people?"

"Whatever you think they want."

"What... What if I don't have what this person wants..."

Rhode smirked a little, "If I didn't know any better, I would say you were trying to find out what I want for Christmas."

Carolina blushed a bit, "N-no! I'm just trying to remember..."

Rhode laughed, "I'm just messing with you. Besides, it doesn't have to be an object. It could just be a service or even just telling them something. Not every gift is concrete."

Carolina thought about it for a few seconds. She then got an idea. Then blushed at the idea.

"Oh... Okay... Thanks Rhode."

"No problem."

 **XXX**

"Riley," Zach told his 'friend', "Where are we gonna get a tree? We're on a planet literally made of ice!"

"We'll go to a store for one then!" Riley argued.

"What store?!" Zach exclaimed, "There isn't any civilization for miles! We'll freeze before we find anyone!"

"We don't need a tree," Alex said, walking in, "Christmas isn't about trees or gifts."

"Yeah," Zach agreed, "It's about spending time with friends and family."

"Usually, yes," Alex said, "But since all I have is you guys, that's ruled out."

"Hey!" Both guys exclaimed.

"And to think that I was getting you guys a gift card to Spacey's..." Riley muttered.

"So, what did you guys get for Rhode and Carolina?" Alex asked.

"I made two more Gungooses!" Riley said.

"I managed to copy my Fallout 4 CD twice..." Zach shrugged, "Carolina will like video games, right?"

"Then it's settled," Alex said, "You guys have it all set."

"What about you?" Zack asked, "What did you get them?"

"I don't have anything," Alex gave a shrug, "I just hope they take the 'it's the thought that counts' excuse."

"You've been telling me that for years..." Riley sulked.

 **XXX**

After getting their 'gifts', Rhode retired to his room to play his new Fallout 4 game and Carolina decided to watch.

Rhode groaned and fell on his back as an enemy managed to slaughter him, "Man, I'm out of practice."

"In... Video games?" Carolina questioned.

"Hey, video games require great skill and concentration!"

Rhode then flexed his wrists, "And hand muscles..."

Carolina laughed and then frowned, "Hey Rhode?"

"Yeah?"

"There's, umm, something I need to tell you..."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"My... Real name..."

Rhode sat back up. It never occurred to him how much that subject intrigued him.

"What?! Are you..."

"Yeah... It's..."

'Now or never,' she thought.

"It's Elizabeth..." She managed to get out, "Elizabeth Church."

 **(Author's Note: Man, if they reveal her real name in canon, I'm going to get _so_ red in the face.)**

Rhode stared at her for a moment before smiling and stretching out his hand, "Nice to meet you, Elizabeth Church. My name's Ryan Bellator."

Carolina giggled and shook his hand, "Nice to meet you too."

Rhode laughed and leaned back against his bed. Then a thought occurred to him and he frowned.

"Wait," he said, "Church..."

Then his eyes widened and he stared at her, "The Director's real name is Leonard Church..."

Carolina looked at him and her eyes gave him the answer he was hoping was false.

"The Director is... Your..."

He never got to finish. Carolina bolted out of the room and Rhode quickly got up and ran after her.

"Carolina!"

He finally found her at the door of the base, her face against the wall and he heard sniffing. She was crying.

"Carolina..."

"Now do you know why I never wanted to tell my name to anyone?!" Carolina snapped, turning to him, "It's because I don't want to be associated with him, other than as one of his Freelancers! He's a terrible father, or at least he is now. I barely even remember a time where he was a good one, and that was when my mother was around! Then the only family I had were the Freelancers. And now..."

She sniffed, "The only one I have left is you..."

Rhode stared at her for a few moments, dumbfounded. Then he pulled her into a hug. For a second, she didn't even try to hug back.

"Why?" She asked, "Even after you figure out who I am, you still don't abandon me."

"Because," Rhode said, "I don't care about your past. I care about you, as in now. You can't dwell on the past. Just... Let it all go. And I-"

He stopped and pulled away. Carolina stared at him expectedly as his face went red.

"Yeah?" She said, confused.

Rhode's face turned a brighter shade of red, "I... I..."

Rhode took a deep breath, "I love you Carolina."

Carolina stared at him expressionless as he looked down, his face completely bright red.

"Look, I, umm, forget what I just said and let's go back-"

He was interrupted by Carolina... kissing him. His eyes went wide for a second before they closed and he kissed back.

When they separated, Carolina let out, "I love you too Rhode."

Rhode gave a warm smile and hugged her. They stood there for a minute or so before he looked up. Then he laughed.

"What?" Carolina asked.

"Nothing," he answered, "you wouldn't get it."

Above them hung mistletoe.

 **XXX**

 **And that's that! I originally wrote this on Christmas, so that's why the chapter is Christmas themed. Till next time guys!**


	22. Chapter 21: Taking Their Leave

**Chapter 21: Taking Their Leave**

"Do you guys _really_ have to go?" Riley pouted as Rhode and Carolina got all their stuff packed (even if it wasn't a whole lot).

Rhode looked at him with a sad look in his eyes. While he and Carolina had grown to enjoy spending time with the Misfits, they both knew it had to be temporary. They had to keep moving.

"Sorry guys," Rhode said, "But we've got to keep moving if we're gonna avoid Project Freelancer. Don't get us wrong, we'd love to stay, but..."

"I think we get it," Alex smiled sadly, "We'll miss you guys."

"We'll miss you too," Carolina replied.

They gave Zach a handshake, Riley pulled the two into a hug, sniffing. Alex surprised Rhode and also pulled him into a quick hug. When that was done, she did the same to Carolina.

But when she did, Carolina whispered, "Try anything like that again, and you will get hurt."

Alex just laughed and pulled away, "Sorry, sorry."

Carolina walked back next to Rhode, who asked, "What'd you say?"

Carolina just smiled, "Oh, nothing."

They put on their helmets and walked out, waving goodbye.

"You know," Rhode said, "I'm really gonna miss those three. Riley might've been a pain at times, but I couldn't help but enjoy his stupidity."

"Same. So how are we gonna get off this planet again?"

"Apparently Fallout 4 is a better hacking simulator than I gave it credit for. I managed to pull up a map. There's a small airfield a few miles east of here. We could 'borrow' a Pelican or something and take off."

Carolina smiled, "Alright. Sounds like a plan."

Rhode smiled back. While he and Carolina were officially a couple, they had yet to go on an actual date, but then again, there really wasn't time to, obviously. They hadn't really done anything that romantic since Christmas two months back.

 **XXX**

As they trudged through the snow, they soon spotted lights in the distance. Sure enough, it was an airport. They snuck past a few security guards and made their way into the nearest open Pelican.

When they got into the cockpit, Carolina asked, "Wait, do you even know how to fly this thing?"

Rhode looked back at her, "Do you?"

Carolina stared at him before nodding, "Good point."

They eventually started the Pelican up, but by then, they had been spotted and armed guards began running over to them, demanding them to come out.

"Come on..." Rhode muttered as he worked, "Come on..."

Finally, the Pelican lifted off the ground. The guards began to fire desperately at the escaping ship, but it was too late. Rhode steered the ship towards the sky and took off. They both cheered and Carolina gave him a quick hug.

"I hope that wasn't enough to attract the Project's attention," Rhode said.

"I'm sure they won't notice one Pelican."

Rhode nodded and turned his attention back to the sky. They exited the planet's atmosphere and Rhode realized something.

"Hey..." He said, "Where are we gonna go?"

Carolina thought about it and shrugged, "I never really thought about that. Any destination is nice if it's away from Project Freelancer."

Rhode sighedand said sarcastically, "Well... That narrows it down..."

Carolina punched his arm, "Shut up! It's not like we can figure out where they are."

Rhode thought for a minute, "...Maybe we can."

"Huh?"

"If we can scan the radio frequency and other technical know how, we can eavesdrop on their radio calls and figure out at least where a Freelancer is."

Carolina smiled, "And then we go as far away as possible. Genius!"

"It might take a while though," Rhode replied, removing his helmet, "So try to get comfortable."

Carolina removed her helmet, "Don't mind if I do. We might be here a while, considering your hacking skills."

"Hey! I got us this Pelican, didn't I?"

Carolina laughed, "I'm just messing with you. Now I'm off to get all this melted snow out of my armor."

Rhode laughed. Carolina smiled, kissed his cheek, and walked into the passenger area of the ship, leaving a blushing Rhode to his work.

 **XXX**

"Okay!" Rhode yelled, "I think I got something!"

It had taken a few hours, what with scanning radio waves, frequencies, etc., but Rhode thought he finally got something. It was on a planet not too far from their location.

And just seconds later, he found out who was on the other end and he smirked, "And I think you might like this. Or not, just depends."

Carolina walked into the cockpit, "Who is it?"

"Agent Texas."

She leaned forward, "Who's she talking to?"

Rhode began checking, "It's... York?"

Carolina raised an eyebrow, "What are they doing?"

"Let's find out."

Rhode turned up the radio and they heard gunfire. But Tex and York didn't seem to be fighting each other... They were fighting someone else. They also heard Delta in the background.

Tex: Next reload, let's split up. You go Bravo.

York: Copy. D, I need a speaker for mark.

Delta: Speaker active.

Tex: Copy.

(Gunfire ceases)

Delta: Mark.

Tex and York: Mark!

Delta: Reload and go. Three.

More gunshots were heard.

Delta: Enemy eliminated. 92% efficiency; 36 rounds of 39 fired.

Tex: Darn it, jam! Cover, cover, cover!

Delta: Alarm!

York: *cries out in pain*

Carolina gasped.

Tex: York, are you okay?

York: It's that... stupid left side.

Tex: D, info.

Delta: York has sustained two wounds to his upper-left chest. Recommend evac stat.

York: Just... need a minute.

Delta: Administering field stint and analgesic.

York: Wait. Tex, don't... don't let 'im... *goes silent*

Delta: York is now unconscious. Alarm: target Alpha has reloaded.

Tex: How bad is it, D?

Delta: York will not survive.

Rhode turned off the radio, "I... think we've heard enough..."

Carolina sat down and put a hand on her forehead, "York..."

Rhode frowned and put an arm around her, "I know..."

She rested her head on his shoulder, "I just... Can't believe he's gone."

She closed her eyes and tried to stop the tears from coming out. Rhode felt the same. York was a good friend who accepted him as quickly as Carolina had when Rhode joined. It hurt to know he was dead.

Rhode kissed her forehead, "Hey... Let's get out of here. Find someplace else to go."

Carolina sniffed and nodded, "Yeah... Let's go."

 **XXX**

 **I've always wondered how Carolina found out about York's death. So this chapter pretty much explains that. Till next time guys!**


	23. Chapter 22: Old Home

**Chapter 22: Old Home**

Carolina and Rhode continued their journey through space, stopping at random planets for places to stay for a few days and gather supplies. At one point, they arrived on a random planet, as usual, and walked into town to scrounge for supplies.

Then Rhode looked around. The place seemed... vaguely familiar. He continued to walk down the sidewalk with Carolina, glancing around.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"No, it's just..." Rhode blinked, "This place seems so familiar. I just can't figure out why."

Carolina looked at him, "Well, as far as I know, you never went to a planet like this before. At least, not when you were with Project Freelancer."

Rhode's eyes snapped up in realization, "No way..."

Rhode stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. Carolina stopped and stared at him.

"What?" She asked.

Rhode stayed where he was, "This... This is my home..."

Carolina looked at him with a confused look before her eyes widened, "Wait, you mean..."

"This is the planet where you found me. And asked if I wanted to come with you to the Project."

They stood still in silence, the only noise being the passerby's footsteps and the occasional car.

"Oh."

 **XXX**

The rest of the time they were in the town, they were silent. They went back to the ship, dropped their supplies in the storage unit, and sat down in their seats. Rhode was quiet as he took the wheel and kept glancing outside.

When the Pelican took off, he turned in a different direction and flew a bit closer to the ground than usual and never ascended.

"Um, Rhode?" Carolina questioned, "What are you doing?"

Rhode never answered. He just kept flying. Then he glanced at the ground as he slowly flew over a ruined area with a cemetery about half a mile away from the wreckage. That's where Rhode stopped the Pelican and landed.

Rhode opened the door and walked out. Carolina, meanwhile, followed him, confused.

"Where are-" Carolina began but quickly stopped, "Oh..."

Rhode walked through the ruined area. He kept glancing around, remembering exactly where everything used to be. With every wreckage he remembered, a memory appeared in his head. The staircase which he ran down everyday, his bedroom with his mother reading a four year old Ryan a story, etc.

Then an even more recent memory flashed through his head. Him leaning against a broken wall and Carolina offering her hand to him with Wyoming watching nearby in disgust. Rhode thought it was weird that Wyoming's presence had to taint that good memory.

Rhode stepped through a pile that actually seemed more fresh than the others. It was as if someone had built a shack here, but it had collapsed. Rhode shrugged the thought away and continued walking, Carolina following not too far behind.

 **XXX**

He finally arrived at the graveyard about ten minutes later and looked at two graves that were side by side. Carolina stopped, took off her helmet, and watched from a bit away as Rhode stared at his parents' graves. Rhode sighed at the stones, took off his helmet, and spoke.

"Hey Mom, hey Dad. If you guys are listening, it's me, Ryan. Man... It's been a while."

Ryan was silent for a moment, "Got kicked out of the Project, so... That's a thing. Well, more like I kicked myself out. But I'm sure you two don't mind, considering you now probably know what the Project has tried to do.

"It was good while it lasted though. I met new friends and, well, Carolina. Who would've thought that I would be in a relationship with her? Sounds a bit crazy, but it's true. We're on the run, so I can't stay a whole lot longer.

"I still wonder what we're gonna do besides run... Oh well. I'm sure we can handle anything life throws at us.

"I guess this is goodbye. I better get going before I tear up. Wish us luck."

Ryan put his helmet in between the graves and turned his head back to the graves, "It was good to talk."

He walked back to Carolina, who had a sad smile on her face, "You want me to drive? You seem to be a bit distracted."

"Go ahead," Ryan smiled back, wiping away a few stray tears.

They got back in the Pelican and Carolina got in the driver's seat. Rhode sat down in the back and took one last look at the graveyard. He stared at the helmet on the ground. He let out a quiet humorless laugh.

'Goodbye forever, Agent Rhode Island.'

 **XXX**

 **And Rhode has thrown away his past with the Project behind him. Now for the epilogue. Till next time guys!**


	24. Epilogue: Red vs Blue

**Epilogue: Red vs. Blue**

A few more months passed with the same routine. There were quite a few interesting things that Ryan and Carolina heard. Like how the UNSC took down Project Freelancer and everyone with the Project was sent to jail, including the Director

Agent Maine's , or the Meta's, rampage temporarily stopped when the Project shut down, but he quickly showed his face again only a week or so later. But, to Carolina and Ryan's surprise, he was stopped by Wash and a group of Red and Blue simulation troopers of all people.

They were overjoyed to hear that, of course, but only a month later, the Director escaped. Ever since then, Carolina had begun to gradually change. She began to get a bit more cranky and lose her temper a bit easier. But thanks to Ryan, she calmed down a whole lot quicker. The fact that her father was out there somewhere really got to her.

Ryan then suggested one day that they go find him. Carolina happily agreed. So after a bit of hacking, they learned about the Epsilon AI and the whereabouts of Wash and the Red and Blue soldiers. And thus, they headed to Outpost 17 Valhalla.

When they arrived, Ryan (who felt the need to get a new helmet) looked through the sniper scope at the valley below. Even from their position, Ryan and Carolina could hear the constant bickering of an orange soldier ands maroon one.

"I'm telling you," Orange said, "I didn't move Donut's body!"

"Bullcrap!" Maroon replied, "His body was right here! What did you do with it?"

"What would I want with Donut's body?"

"...Good point."

"Geez," Ryan said, "Do they ever stop?"

"I know right?" Carolina replied, "They're arguing like an old married couple. I can't believe that we actually need their help."

"Hey, these guys took down the Meta, remember? They've got to be good."

"Whatever. Let's just get this over with."

Ryan looked at her, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. I just... want to find him so bad."

Ryan sighed, "I understand. Now come on. Let's get going."

"Right."

And with that, they got up and walked over to the outposts.

 **XXX**

 **And that's the end of this AU! Man, I had fun writing this. Till-**

 _Well well well... Look what we have here!_

 **What the- You again?! I thought you were only in my Power Rangers fanfiction!**

 _Oh please. I'm **everywhere**. You're gonna have a tough time getting rid of me!_

 **Yes, but I will get rid of you.**

 _Maybe someday, but definitely not anytime soon! Now to head to that Avatar fanfic you made earlier!_

 **What?! No! Stay away!**

 _Welp, I'm going now! Remember: Reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, BYE!!!_

 **Grr... I think you all know who I'm dealing with now. I better get back to Avatar right now. Till next time guys!**


End file.
